G Plus Volume 1 Issue 43

VOL 01 | ISSUE 43 | JUL 26 - AUG 1, 2014 

`10 

24 Pages 

GUWAHATI 

THE YEAR AFTER 

The ward councillors and the Mayor have just completed a 

year in office after the GMC elections as G Plus takes stock of 

the situation. 

PG 02 

Scarlett Johansson 

Catching Up, Pg 24 

Has it ALL 

gone wrong 

for hbs? 

PG 12

2 

Lead Story 

G PLUS JUN 26 - AUG 01, 2014 

G Plus Ward Watch highlights 

The Guwahati Municipal Corporation 

elections finally happened 

in June last year, after 

ten years and within 2-3 months, the 

council was formed. Now, it has been 

almost one year since the council was 

formed and Guwahati as a city still 

requires a lot to be called a developed 

city. When the GMC was functioning 

without the elected councillors for almost 

ten years, have the elected ward 

representatives made any difference 

to the city now? Is the city Mayor 

as influential and powerful as he or 

she should be? What are the challenges 

which the new council faced 

and what sort of help did they receive 

from the government? G Plus takes 

a look at the report card of the oneyear-old 

council. 

The chief 

The head of all the councillors, 

the city Mayor Abir Patra narrated 

the kind of challenges the council 

faced after forming the corporation 

last year. He said, “When we started, 

we faced challenges in almost all the 

aspects of development in the city. 

There were many major problems 

like garbage management, drainage 

system, streetlights, drinking water, 

road conditions and more. As the 

council was formed after 10 years, 

we faced numerous hurdles resuming 

the work in an organised manner. 

Soon after forming the council last 

year, the first challenge that we faced 

was the dengue threat. With the help 

of the health department we made 

sure that the disease did not spread in 

the city and there were two reported 

deaths. As it is just the first year, we 

initially decided to resolve the drainage 

problem and also the street lights 

issue. We repaired all the faulty street 

lights and the work is still going on 

for which we received an amount of 

Rs 3.77 cores.” 

He further added, “The GS Road, 

Zoo Narangi road, MK Path and 

many other city roads which were 

under PWD has been taken over by 

the corporation and we are taking 

WARD 

NO 12 

WARD 

NO 20 

THE YEAR AFTER 

The ward councillors and the Mayor have just completed a year in 

office after the GMC elections as G Plus takes stock of the situation. 

RAHUL CHANDA 

There are many problems 

in our ward like lack 

of proper drinking 

water, bad roads and 

electricity but there is 

not enough funds to 

tackle the problems. `30 

lakhs sounds like a huge 

amount, but it is not and 

it is directly given to the 

people who will carry out 

the work through tenders. 

We submitted the 

requirement but it was 

informed that with this 

money not all the work 

can be completed.” 

Ranjit Barman 

CouncilLoR, Ward Number 19 

care of them. All the councillors of 

the 31 city wards were provided with 

Rs 30 lakhs each for development in 

their wards and the work has already 

begun in some wards.” He also went 

on to speak about the recent introduction 

of the NGOs in the garbage 

management and expressed his confidence 

that it would work out gradually 

with time. 

The Power of One 

In the city administration structure, 

the mayor is supposed to be one 

of the most powerful figures in the 

city. Is the case same in Guwahati as 

well? Well, Abir Patra does feel that 

he has adequate powers to change 

the city. He said, “We are getting full 

support from the government and 

the Chief Minister but even then, 

in 1992 according to a corporation 

act, Mayors or Corporations were 

suppose to get 18 important departments, 

but in Guwahati there are only 

4 departments under the corporation 

so our powers are restricted. There 

are departments like forests, water 

resources and fire, which are not 

under us. If certain things related to 

these departments go wrong, people 

blame us. So, there should be a decision 

in the cabinet to bring all these 

18 departments under the corporation. 

These departments have huge 

budgets which can be utilised for city 

development.” Patra also added that 

this is for the last time he becomes 

the Mayor of the city and in future 

he might not contest the elections. He 

also requested the city people to support 

the corporation to change the 

city and after his five-year tenure, he 

is confident that Guwahati will be a 

completely developed city. 

The councillors 

Pradip Roy, councillor of Ward 

number 3 is happy with the support 

provided to him by the authorities 

and feels that his ward has some of 

the best roads in not only Guwahati 

but in entire Assam. He said, “We did 

not face any tough challenge as everything 

in my ward is going smooth 

except the street lights issue which is 

also getting resolved.” 

Ward number 28 councillor 

Bhagya Ram Teron said, “some major 

problems of our ward is street lights 

and poor drainage system but after 

receiving Rs 30 lakhs from the GMC, 

the work has already started. There 

are 17 roads that need to be repaired 

and the tender process for some has 

already been started. We need some 

more funds to complete the development 

faster.” 

Councillor Swapan Das of Ward 

WARD 

NO 14 

WARD 

NO 24 

Ward 

No. 

number 31 mentioned some serious 

issues in his ward. He said, “Because 

there are many hills in our ward, illegal 

hill cutting is a major issue. We 

don’t have the executive powers so it 

is difficult for us to stop the hill cutting 

which is already banned. Because 

of this, the mud comes down during 

rainfall and blocks the drains, which 

cause water logging and urban floods. 

The fund that we have received will 

be used for proper drainage system 

but it is not enough. There should be 

more funds allocated, which will help 

worksto get completed faster.” He 

added that there are many meetings 

happening every now and then, but 

making decisions takes time which is 

a problem. 

Similarly, Ranjit Barman of Ward 

Number 19 also feels that the funds 

allotted are not sufficient and are not 

granted in time. He said, “There are 

many problems in our ward like lack 

of proper drinking water, bad roads 

and electricity but there is not enough 

funds to tackle the problems. Rs 30 

lakhs sounds like a huge amount, but 

it is not and it is directly given to the 

people who will carry out the work 

through tenders. We submitted the 

requirement but it was informed that 

with this money not all the work can 

be completed.” 

The funds seem to be a major 

problem and most of the ward councillors 

are of the same opinion. Quick 

decisions seem to be another problem 

as cited by these elected members and 

slows donw the entire development 

process. Right after the formation of 

Concentrated 

Region 

3 Pandu Road Road 

4 Nilachal Hills None 

Major Issues 

7 katabari Roads, Voltage 

Fluctuation 

7 Nizaramukh path Drinking water, robbery 

9 SRCB Road Parking, Electrical Wires 

9 KC Road Road condition, traffic 

congestion, garbage 

11 Hedayatpur Theft 

11 Lamb Road Water logging 

12 Krishnanagar Minimal 

12 Navagraha Road Inconclusive state 

12 Nizarapar Roads, Drinking water, 

garbage 

14 Piyuli Phukan road Roads 

18 Rupnagar Incomplete roads 

19 MG Path Water logging, Roads 

20 Tarun Nagar Drainage 

20 Manik Nagar Water Logging, Theft 

22 Narengi Roads 

24 Bodo Chowk Driking water, Low 

voltage 

28 Ajanta Path Roads 

28 Lakhmi Nagar Narrow roads 

31 Baghorbori Gravelled road 

the council last year, G Plus has been 

covering many areas of the different 

wards and according to our watch 

there are a few problems in every area. 

People 

Nabajyoti Kalita of Ward Number 

20 said that previously the problem 

was that there was nobody to talk 

to if there was a problem, but now they 

can talk to their councillor Anima 

Deka who acts on any given problem 

and if not resolved, she at least assures 

that the issue will be resolved. 

Nilanjana Das of Ward Number 

12 feels that the councillors existence 

was only noticed for a few days 

when the GMC elections were there, 

but after a month, she stopped hearing 

about any activity in the area by 

the councillor. She said, “I don’t even 

know where the councillor stays and 

how to contact him. I feel that there 

is no difference between now and the 

10 years we spent without any councillor. 

I have decided that I will never 

waste my time voting for such elections.” 

People have both positive as well 

as negative opinions about the council 

and the only thing which can prove 

otherwise is their work. The authorities 

on their part, will have to back the 

council for the work. The councillors 

should think more on people’s involvement 

and pressurise the authorities 

to speed up the decision making 

process. Four years are still left and it 

is enough time for a city to decide. 

rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUL 26 - AUG 01, 2014 3 

G-View 

THREAT TO LGBI AIRPORT 

The recent anti-encroachment drive has earned both applause and brickbats for the 

government, but certain sidelights have also come into play during this mission. 

Mrinmoyee Hazarika 

The contradictory pattern of 

work shown on the part of the 

government while cleaning 

up the natural channels of the city to 

prevent the problem of flash flood has 

raised the eyebrows of many. Some of 

these might pose great danger to the 

lone international airport of the North 

east – Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International 

airport, Guwahati. 

The government, which has been 

exhibiting its strict determination 

while freeing the natural channels 

from encroachment in the current 

anti-encroachment drive going on in 

different rivers and wetlands of the 

city, on the other hand, is initiating to 

acquire and hand over huge areas of 

lands falling under the Doboka wetland 

in the Azara revenue circle, to 

Assam Rifles, not far away from the 

LGBI airport. 

As many as 835 bighas of agricultural 

land located in Pachanipara and 

Matikutuni village near Doboka had 

been earmarked for requisition by the 

government in the year 2006 for the 

construction of Assam Rifle’s headquarters. 

“If the Doboka beel is filled up 

with earth, then there will be no way 

left for the water of the Kalmani river, 

which flows through both Pachanipara 

and Matikutuni village to flow down 

and it will inundate all the nearby agricultural 

lands and the villages. Since, 

the beel, which is connected to Deepor 

beel is located not far away from the 

LGBI airport, there is a chance that the 

airport will get submerged if the beel 

gets filled up,” Moloy Baruah, President, 

Early Birds, a city based environment 

organisation told G Plus. The 

Doboka beel that absorbs the excess 

rainwater and helps in maintaining 

a balanced eco system, is a breeding 

If the Doboka beel is filled up with earth, then 

there will be no way left for the water of the Kalmani 

river, which flows through both Pachanipara and 

Matikutuni village to flow down and it will inundate 

all the nearby agricultural lands and the villages. 

Since, the beel, which is connected to Deepor beel is 

located not far away from the LGBI airport, there is a 

chance that the airport will get submerged if the beel 

gets filled up 

Moloy Baruah, 

President, Early Birds, a city based environment organisation 

ground for many birds and fishes. 

“We have moved the court to 

challenge the government’s decision 

of acquisition of agricultural land 

and wetland for constructional activities 

and had filed a PIL in 2011. The 

Gauhati high court dismissed the PIL 

the next year and almost instantly, we 

moved to the Supreme Court. Now, we 

are waiting for the final hearing on the 

same,” Moloy Baruah said. 

Baruah also said that since the 

matter is now under prosecution, no 

one can take any further steps in the 

matter until the final hearing comes 

up. But, a few months back, the Assam 

Rifles forcefully tried to acquire the 

disputed land in Doboka. However, 

with the prompt action taken by the 

local villagers, the Assam Rifles could 

were not able to take over the land. 

The Assam Rifle’s has erected boundary 

posts in the area. 

“We had sent petitions to the 

Union government and even to the 

President and bowing to the opposition 

to the move, the state government 

had put the acquisition on hold. The 

then revenue minister Bhumidhar 

Barman stated in the assembly that the 

government would find another plot 

near the Assam Meghalaya border for 

the construction of the Assam Rifle’s 

headquarter instead of Pachanipara 

and Matikutuni village. But, again, the 

revenue department has chosen the 

same plot for the battalion,” Ahab Ali 

of Pachanipara, whose six bighas of 

land are under acquisition, said. 

The locals of Pachanipara village 

also stated that some of the landowners, 

who had no interest in cultivating 

their land, agreed to the acquisition 

first and indirectly put pressure on 

others. The villagers have alleged that 

the landowners, with vested interests, 

have even gone up to the extent 

of blackmailing the others to give up 

their pieces of lands. 

“The lands are some of the most 

fertile lands in the state and the farmers 

in Pachanipara, Matikutuni and 

nearby villages have been cultivating 

in those lands for ages without taking 

the help of irrigation or using any 

chemicals. If these lands are acquired 

forcefully, the farmers will lose their 

means of livelihood. Besides, the government 

is paying much less to the 

farmers against their acquired lands,” 

Ali said. 

The government is paying `4.26 

lakh for each bigha of land, while the 

market rate of the same is more than 

`10 lakh. Moloy Baruah of Early Birds 

stated that the entire city would be affected 

if the wetland is filled up. 

“It is a good move on the part of 

the government to clear the natural 

channels of the city and all the wetlands, 

including the Deepor beel, 

should be made free from encroachment. 

In order to protect the wetlands, 

it is very important to demarcate the 

boundaries of all the wetlands first 

and the government should continue 

the anti-encroachment drive in the 

city without any pause. But at the 

same time, the government should 

withdraw its recent notice which allows 

converting agricultural lands 

into non-agricultural lands,” Moloy 

Baruah opined. 

mrinmoyee.hazarika@g-plus.in

4 

In The News 

PILOT PROJECT 

ON FLOOD EROSION 

IN GHY 

ADITYA GOGOI 

G PLUS JUN 26 - AUG 01, 2014 

VILLAGE INITIATIVE 

AGAINST 

HILL CUTTING 

ADITYA GOGOI 

Objectives of the Centre 

• To develop necessary digital topographic database required 

for urban planning in hilly areas 

• To develop GIS based rainfall-runoff and sediment yield 

model applicable in hilly urban areas 

• Establishing an experimental watershed for evaluating impact 

of urbanization in hilly area 

• Development of optimal ecological management practices for 

controlling sediment and water yield from a hilly watershed 

An ambitious project, if implemented 

successfully, might 

provide a solution to artificial 

floods and landslides in the city and 

hillsides. The ‘Integrated Land Use 

Planning and Water Resource Management’ 

(ILPWRM) project of the 

Union Ministry of Urban Development 

developed by IIT Guwahati was 

formally launched in the city in a bid 

to mitigate the flood and landslide in 

the city. 

The project which is being implemented 

by the Guwahati Metropolitan 

Development Authority (GMDA) 

with the assistance from IIT Guwahati 

and an engineering firm Srishtie as a 

pilot project in Baikunthapur area, 

which covers 18 hectres of land in the 

hills. 

“It’s a challenging mission for us 

as because such kinds of work is done 

before people start their habitations. 

But here, it’s already a residential area 

and the earth is already cut in an unscientific 

way. We have to work on it 

without changing the existing structure. 

This is the first of its kind in the 

country,” Arup Kumar Sarma, head 

of the civil engineering department 

of IIT Guwahati who is the principal 

investigator of centre of excellence for 

ILPWRM, told G Plus. 

Accordingly, plantation will be 

carried out in the hill side besides 

proper scientific drainage system, to 

control the water flow. A reservoir 

of water will be built at the basin to 

gather the water and sediments. The 

pilot project costing `4.31 crore will 

be completed in March 2015. It is expected 

that this will help in a great way 

in mitigating the artificial flood in the 

city. 

It will be completed with the assistance 

of all the government agencies, 

which includes Soil Conservation department, 

Guwahati Municipal Corporation, 

GMDA and forest department 

among others. 

J N Khataniar, the chief consultant 

of Srishtie who prepared the Detailed 

Project Report (DPR) said that it is a 

process of living with the nature in a 

scientific way. 

“We are hopeful that this project 

will be a great help to the people of the 

city,” said Khataniar. 

Earlier, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi 

had asked the GMDA to implement 

suggestions given way back in 

2008 in the report by the IIT-Guwahati 

regarding land and water resource 

management. 

The locals also feel elated at the 

initiative for the effort to save the hills. 

“We are extremely grateful to the IIT 

Guwahati and GMDA for their willingness 

to make our area landslide 

free. Once completed, the people of 

the area will be highly benefitted,” said 

Manoj Baishya, a local. 

The centre will also concentrate 

on developing a model for calculating 

the carrying capacity of hilly terrain 

of the city based on sustainable use of 

the available water and land resources 

and with the constraints of maintaining 

ecological balance. Furthermore, it 

will also look at the development of a 

knowledge hub for providing technical 

backup and also impart training 

programs to the local urban bodies. 

Even as rampant hill cutting 

increases the problem in the 

environment including the 

floods and landslides in the city, a 

village within the city – Baikunthapur 

has taken up praiseworthy steps 

to save the hills. 

The village situated just behind 

the National Games Village in the 

greater Basistha area, has decided 

to impose `10,000 as a fine on anyone 

who is found to be indulging in 

hill cutting and similar activities, 

which causes harm to the environment. 

“We have to be careful in safeguarding 

the environment. It’s our 

own responsibility. It was way back 

in 2013 when we started this rule 

for the people living in the area,” 

Manoj Baishya, Joint Secretary of 

Baikunthapur Naamghar committee 

said. 

It started when the villagers 

found a man to be involved in earth 

cutting on the hills. He was nabbed 

and was handed over to police and 

was imposed a fine of `5, 000 by the 

locals. He later took oath in a public 

meeting not to indulge in such 

activity. 

“After that we decided to increase 

the fine so that nobody dares 

to commit the mistake again. We 

know that the cutting of the hills is 

a major worry at the present time in 

the city,” Baishya added. 

The city has been facing a severe 

crisis from the artificial floods 

over the last several years. Experts 

say that the sediments – in the form 

of earth from the exposed hills, 

which are carried along with rainwater 

have filled up the drains. 

The village has 150 households 

and everybody is accountable to 

the Naamghar committee, which 

also solves the various disputes in 

the village. 

“This is the reason we don’t 

need to visit the police station. We 

don’t remember going to a police 

station for the last several years except 

the case of earth cutting when 

the villagers handed over the man 

to the police in 2013. The villagers 

abide by the verdict given by the 

Naamghar committee,” said Satish 

Kalita, president of the committee. 

The village people also have 

another reason to rejoice as the 

‘Integrated Land Use Planning and 

Water Resource Management’ (IL- 

PWRM) project of Union Ministry 

of Urban Development developed 

by IIT Guwahati was formally 

launched on Sunday in a bid to 

mitigate the flood and landslide. It’s 

a scientific way of living with the 

nature.

G PLUS JUL 26 - AUG 01, 2014 5 

In The News 

CALL TO SAVE NATURAL DRAINS 

G Plus feature 

In the wake of the government’s 

initiative against the illegal dwellers 

in the natural channels of the 

city Guwahati, a section of the citizens 

are urging the administration not to 

overlook the natural drains existing in 

the city. 

Similar to the rivers and wetlands, 

the natural drains of the city have 

undergone massive encroachment 

for several decades, which has been 

worsening the living conditions of the 

citizens, causing artificial floods with a 

short spell of rain. 

“Just clearing the rivers and wetlands 

will not solve the flash flood 

issue of the city. In order to find a 

permanent solution to the problem, 

the natural drains, which existed once 

inside the city have to be made free 

from eviction. These drains have become 

almost non-existent because of 

the heavy encroachment going on for 

a long period of time,” alleges Utpal 

Das, President, Forum of Conscious 

Citizen, a city based organisation. 

Mentioning the example of encroachment 

going on in the natural 

drains, Das said, “Because of encroachment, 

one of the major natural 

drains, which starts at the Himatsingka 

petrol pump near AT road and flows 

down to Bharalu near Vishwaratna 

Hotel via Tokoubari, Athgaon and behind 

Marwari Maternity Hospital has 

now shrunk down considerably. The 

drain, which has a length and width 

of around 378 meter and 4.5-6 metres 

respectively, has now been converted 

into a small abandoned drain.” 

Das also alleged that the Himatsingka 

petrol pump was constructed 

right on the starting point of the drain 

hence blocking and encroaching the 

drain, which had a width of seven metres 

at that point. Moreover, around 

thirty to thirty five numbers of buildings 

were constructed on the drain 

near the AT road, which includes 

the Vishwaratna hotel and two other 

buildings owned by Himatsingka. 

“Apart from this, various other 

constructions including a club, hotel, 

Durga temple, hardware shops 

and others have been built right on 

the drain near the Athgaon area. The 

authorities of the Marwari Maternity 

Hospital have also built a portion of 

their hospital, encroaching the drain,” 

Utpal Das said. 

The president of the Forum of 

Conscious Citizen further alleged 

that educational institutes like the K 

C Das Commerce College has been 

constructed even after the allotment 

for the same was cancelled in 1995. 

A number of existing constructions are under the scanner for being 

situated on top of natural drains which had existed in Guwahati, blocking 

the natural flow of water. 

“The KC Das commerce college was 

also constructed on some portions of 

the drain.” 

Mentioning about other natural 

drains which has been facing the same 

fate of the one located near AT road, 

Utpal Das said, “Another such drain 

which flows near Nandan hotel in Paltan 

bazaar via Nepali mandir to Borsola 

beel has had to face the wrath of 

encroachment. Various other business 

establishments have been constructed 

on those drains, which block the water 

flow in Patan bazaar and Solapara 

area and causes water logging in those 

areas. Why did the government grant 

permission to erect multi-storied 

buildings on natural drains? Because 

without the necessary permissions, 

how come the people are able to 

construct buildings on such drains? 

Government must take action to clear 

those natural drains in the city. Otherwise, 

the public will have to suffer 

from artificial floods in the future too” 

The organisation also sniffed out 

a nexus among the bureaucrats, government 

officials and ministers while 

granting permissions for constructing 

buildings on natural channels.

6 

In The News 

G PLUS JUN 26 - AUG 01, 2014 

SHUBHOJIT ROY 

LADIES CITY BUS SERVICE 

STARTED 

A city bus service designed specifically for the women of Guwahati has been started 

with an aim to provide safe and secured travel for the ladies. What remains to be seen 

though is how successful and effective this new service turns out. 

The much awaited city bus service 

for women is finally here 

after its flag off ceremony took 

place last Wednesday morning. The 

service will exclusively be available 

for women and kids; and aims to provide 

safe and stress free journey. Chief 

Secretary Jitesh Khosla flagged off 

the women’s city bus service from the 

Judge’s Field. 

The occasion 

Speaking on the service at a public 

meeting held to mark the inauguration 

ceremony of the women’s bus service, 

Khosla said, “Women are an integral 

part of our society and their contribution 

is very important for marching 

ahead. It is important that the women 

feel completely secure. We have facilitated 

this service so that the women 

can have a safe and comfortable mode 

of transportation.” Noted actor, Zerifa 

Wahid, the brand ambassador of the 

bus service also spoke on the occasion 

about the concern for women’s safety. 

Kamrup (M) Deputy Comissioner 

(in-charge), Dr. M. Angamuthu detailed 

about the future plan and said 

that the routes for ladies bus service 

will be extended very soon. The event 

was also attended by Anand Prakash 

Tiwari, Guwahati SSP; Gautam Das, 

DTO; Dwijen Das, DTO & Secretary, 

RTA among other dignitaries. 

Service features 

The conductors for these special 

city buses are also ladies with valid 

conductor’s license. The uniform of 

these lady conductors comprises of 

black trousers with sky blue coloured 

stripped shirt along with black shoes. 

At present, the route for this service 

is being planned from Khanapara Research 

gate 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. 

Six privately owned buses and two 

ASTC buses have been pressed into 

the service, which will operate from 

7 am to 11 am and from 3 pm to 8 

pm every day. Interestingly, the buses 

will have the route details, timing and 

‘Ladies City Bus service’ displayed on 

the front windshield of the bus. The 

buses have also been equipped with 

CCTV camera surveillance provided 

by GMDA and each bus is supposed 

to have one lady home guard provided 

by the District Police Authority. 

The overall 

scenario 

Talking about the overall city bus 

service of Guwahati in general, the 

scenario seems to be terrible. There 

are overcrowded buses flying everywhere 

at dangerous speed. There is no 

system at all at the bus stops and traffic 

congestion caused by buses is a regular 

scene. No regular ticketing, no routes 

displayed and no uniform worn by the 

Lady conductors showing their licenses 

conductors are some of the points of 

concern. “This new step taken by the 

government is definitely appreciable, 

but I hope the buses don’t turn out to 

be a menace too like the regular city 

buses. However, the positive thing is 

that women can now travel safely and 

without fear with the ladies city buses 

in place,” says Mala Deka, a regular 

bus commuter in the city. 

At present, 1068 general buses 

(approx.) have been given permission 

Women are an 

integral part 

of our society 

and their 

contribution is 

very important 

for marching 

ahead. It is 

important that 

the women 

feel completely 

secure. We have 

facilitated this 

service so that 

the women can 

have a safe and 

comfortable 

mode of 

transportation. 

Gautam Das and Zerifa Wahid 

inaugurating ladies bus service 

to run in the city, out of which 724 

buses are in active running condition 

as per information given by the bus 

association. Besides the city buses, the 

trekkers are also a matter of concern as 

the door less vehicles are being overloaded 

with passengers. Gautam Das, 

DTO says, “We are going to start cancelling 

the trekker permits for those 

who do not abide by rules. About the 

bus service and traffic congestion, 

GMDA is working on constructing 

bus bays at different locations of the 

city.” Speaking of the Deluxe bus service 

in the city, Gautam Das reveals, 

“The commuters think that the deluxe 

city bus service has stopped, but actually 

it haven’t. Only the fares are equal 

to that of regular city buses, but the 

deluxe buses are supposed to be running 

on their specific routes, but they 

are not following it.” 

The ladies city bus service may 

have been flagged off in the city, but 

is definitely going to take a lot of hard 

work to sustain the service. And with 

the special bus service in place, it is 

about time when the authorities put 

their focus for the improvement of 

regular city bus service as well. 

shubhojit.roy@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUL 26 - AUG 01, 2014 7 

Mrinmoyee Hazarika 

In The News 

69 LIVES CLAIMED BY JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS 

IN THE STATE SINCE JANUARY 

Every year, the disease Japanese 

Encephalitis (JE) which is a 

major component of Acute Encephalitis 

Syndrome (AES) has been 

claiming lives all over Assam. 

The disease, which has a tendency 

of breaking out in the rural more 

than the urban areas, has claimed as 

many as 69 lives in Assam since January 

this year. 

As per the records available with 

NRHM, altogether 1158 numbers of 

cases of both AES and JE have been 

detected in the state from January 

2014 to 24th July. Out of those, 415 

cases were being found to be JE positive 

and 183 numbers of deaths have 

been registered in both AES and JE 

during the same period. Out of the 

415 JE positive cases, 69 lost their 

lives because the same disease. 

“In Assam, the first case of JE was 

found in Lakhimpur district in 1978 

and the pilot project study on JE vaccination 

was started during 1987-88 

at Gogamukh primary health centre 

in Lakhimpur. The rural population 

are getting more affected by the disease 

than the urban population, because 

of their (rural population) habit 

of working in the paddy fields with 

bare bodies,” Dr BC Bhagawati, State 

Surveillance Officer, IDSP, NRHM 

told G Plus. 

Bhagawati further mentioned 

that the sporadically occurring disease 

is caused by the mosquito-borne 

Japanese encephalitis virus and domestic 

pigs and wild birds (herons) 

are reservoirs of the virus. Transmission 

of this virus to humans may 

cause severe symptoms and even if a 

patient gets cured from the disease, 

he or she would be left with some 

kind of physical deformity forever. 

“AES accounts for 60 per cent of 

the cases covering 24 districts of Assam 

this year. JE was responsible for 

40 per cent of the cases in mainly the 

lower Assam districts. An adult vaccination 

programme of JE was done 

in nine districts including Golaghat, 

Jorhat, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, 

Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Kamup 

Rural and Metro during last February 

and March. Now, the proposal 

has been sent to carry out the programme 

in lower Assam as well,” Dr 

B Boruah, SPO, NVBCP, NRHM told 

G Plus. 

Since the month of 

January to 24th July, 

2014, altogether 97 

cases of AES and JE 

have been detected in 

Kamrup (M) and 30 

positive cases of JE have 

been found in Kamrup 

(M) district 

So far, since the month of January 

to 24th July, 2014, altogether 97 cases 

of AES and JE have been detected in 

Kamrup (M) and 30 positive cases of 

JE have been found in Kamrup (M) 

district. No deaths have been recorded 

in Kamrup (M) yet because of JE. 

On the other hand, a total number 

of 77 cases of AES and JE have 

been registered in Kamrup (R) during 

the period of January, 2014 and 

24th July, 2014 and 9 death cases 

were registered. Out of the 77 cases, 

36 were found positive with JE and 6 

SPLURGE URGE 

death cases were registered in Kamrup 

(R) during the same period. 

“Awareness camps are being organised 

in the primary health centres 

across the state. Besides, fogging and 

blood samples are being examined 

in order to prevent the disease in the 

state,” Dr B Boruah told. 

In the meantime, in the backdrop 

of outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis 

(JE) and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome 

(AES) in the state, chief minister 

Tarun Gogoi had asked the officials 

to make a comprehensive action 

plan to control JE and AES, including 

setting up of an ICU in each district 

hospital for treatment of emergency 

cases along with and laboratory testing 

units. 

The Chief Minister also directed 

the officials to ensure adequate supply 

of vaccine and medicine to big 

hospitals, district hospitals and other 

health centres. Currently, there are 

thirteen functional JE diagnosis laboratories 

in the state. 

mrinmoyee.hazarika@g-plus.in 

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8 

City 

G PLUS JUN 26 - AUG 01, 2014 

THE 6000 Cr SCAM? 

The Gogoi Govt, in the name of Guwahati development, has managed to do 

nothing noteworthy for NE’s biggest city even after funds were made available. 

SYEDA AMBIA ZAHAN 

The recent artificial flood in 

the city was enough to expose 

the level of corruption taking 

place in the name of implementation 

of various infrastructure projects 

taken up by the government of Assam. 

Data obtained from the Guwahati 

Metropolitan Development Authority 

has exposed a scam of almost 

`6000 crore taking place in the name 

of various Urban Development projects 

in Guwahati . 

The Congress government came 

to power in 2001 and since then, 

they have ‘officially’ spent around ` 

5821.18 crores in various projects 

on infrastructure development and 

urban renewal. The major part of the 

funds for development of the city had 

not only come from the centre but 

had also been acquired as loan from 

the World bank, Japan Bank and 

Asian Development Bank. 

But the artificial flood which 

has claimed 33 lives in the past three 

years has depicted the real picture of 

the success and progress of implementation 

of such projects. 

Infrastructure 

Development projects 

Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, the 

minister who recently stepped down 

from the Gogoi cabinet, was the 

Minister for Urban Development 

Department in the first term of the 

Congress ministry in 2001. During 

this period, anomaly of huge funds 

in the name of development of the 

city has come to light. Also, the 

construction of many high-rise 

buildings in the protected areas of the 

city, were given permission during 

this time. 

In the year 2011, the state 

government had submitted a white 

paper on funds spent for various 

Guwahati development projects. As 

per the report, the government has 

spent `296.05 cr. in its first term in 

office since 2001-02 to 2005-06. 

In its second term from 2006-07 

to 2009-10, it spent `577.79 cr. As per 

the report, the money spent in the 

first four years of the second term in 

the ministry is two times higher. The 

same govt in the year 2010-11, spent 

`297.03 cr. 

The government had spent 

`380.26 Cr from state planning in the 

name of Guwahati development in 

the year 2011-12. In 2012-13, it spent 

`693.51 cr and in 2013-14, it spent 

`492 cr. 

Water Projects 

To implement the South- Guwahati 

water supply project and the South 

Guwahati Jun Khuowa Water Supply 

Scheme under the JNR urban renewal 

programme, the state government had 

taken a loan of `1650 crore from JiCA 

of Japan in 2009. The implementation 

of the two projects which have been bestowed 

upon Gammon India and MS 

Tahler are going on at snail’s pace . The 

GMDA authority when connected, said 

that the progress report of these two 

projects are yet to be taken from these 

two companies. 

In the third term of the Congress 

Government, the central government 

had released a sum of `35.16 crore under 

the JNR urban renewal programme for 

the garbage disposal scheme but the 

overstuffed stinky dustbins of Guwahati 

are the sole proof of misappropriation of 

fund under this scheme too. 

FUND SPENT UNDER GUWAHATI 

DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS 

First term of Congress govt. (2001-02-2005-06) 

296.05 crore 

Second term of Congress govt. ( 2006-07 t0 2010-11) 

874.82 crore 

Third term of Congress Govt (till 2013-14) 

1565.77 crore 

In the name of 

cleaning and 

digging of drains 

the department 

has shown an 

expenditure of 

`100 crore in 

the three terms 

of the Congress 

government. 

Likewise, `400 crore 

has been ‘spent’ just 

to clean the river 

Bharalu. 

The Housing Unit 

Scam 

Reports obtained from the 

GMDA showed that in the period of 

2006-07 to 2013-14, GMDA had spent 

`108.44 cr and `40 crore subsequently 

in the name of residential house for 

the people of below poverty line. 

Under the Basic Service to 

the Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme of 

the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban 

Renewal Mission (JNNURM), 

the Guwahati Municipal Corporation 

was supposed to construct 2032 

housing units for the urban poor 

families at Amingaon and Phalasil 

Ambari. 

Plot of land of more than 50 bighas 

were purchased from GMDA 

by the GMC. Dr. Himanta Biswa 

Sharma ,then minister for Guwahati 

Development Department assured 

that the project would be completed 

within the financial 2011-12 

But till now apart from two 

-three semi-constructed house in the 

project area, the construction work 

has been closed for years. 

“Actually, a sum of `29.87 crore 

from the fund meant for the construction 

of houses is being channelised to 

the ropeway project.” GMDA chairman 

Robin Bordoloi said. 

Ropeway Project 

The Ropeway: 

The construction works of the 

aerial rope-way project undertaken 

by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development 

Authority (GMDA) connecting 

Guwahati city and North Guwahati 

via Urvashi Island area above the 

river Brahmaputra was being given 

to the company Samir Damodar 

Ropeway Private Limited. But the `32 

crore project came to a halt following 

the objection of the Archeological 

Survey of India. Till now, no audit 

has been made on the construction 

cost of this project. 

In a shocking statement GMDA 

Chairman Robin Bordoloi has stated, 

“The files of the company Damodar 

Ropeway went missing from the office 

long back. Now we are trying to 

recover the data. Bu it will take time.” 

The Deepor Beel Eco 

Tourism Project 

Also in the third tenure of the 

Congress government, in the 2008- 

2009, a sum of `12 Cr had been released 

in the name of an eco tourism 

project in Deepor Beel Wetland. But 

as we all know, Deepor beel has been 

the main hub of encroachment and 

no sign of work under this eco tourism 

project has been going on so far. 

Dr. M Angamuthu, Deputy Commissioner 

(in-charge) Kamrup Metro 

when contacted said “ Now our 

prime motive is to make the wetland 

encroachement and pollution free. 

Once it is done, work will resume.” 

But he could not give a definite time 

bracket for completion of the project. 

City Beautification 

projects 

Crores of rupees of central fund 

meant for beautification and cleanliness 

of the capital city has also been 

misappropriated by the Congress 

led Assam government. In the year 

2008, Assam Chief Minister Tarun 

Gogoi had officially declared that a 

whopping amount of `200 crore had 

been sanctioned by the central government. 

The CM said this amount 

was to be used in giving Guwahai a 

facelift and beautify the river front of 

Brahmaputra. The idea was to demolish 

the buildings of Guwahati High 

Court, District magistrates’ office, 

The Police Superintendents office, 

Residents of the Assam Police Chief 

and to turn these places into parks. 

Cleaning of various 

drains and rivers 

In the name of cleaning and 

digging of drains the department 

has shown an expenditure of `100 

crore in the three terms of the Congress 

government. Likewise, `400 cr 

ore has been ‘spent’ just to clean the 

river Bharalu. 

Drain Cum Footpath 

cum Flood wall 

Under this project the central 

government had sanctioned a sum of 

`100 cr was sanctioned for the cleaning 

of the Bahini river in the year 

FUND SPENT IN THE 

NAME OF CLEANING 

OF DRAINS IN 

VARIOUS AREAS OF 

GUWAHATI IS LIKE 

THIS 

GS Road to Khanapara 

125 crore 

Dispur to Khanapara 

70 crore 

Last Gate to Beltola 

15.70 crore 

Adabari to Jalukbari 

5.46 crore 

Khanapara to Narengi 

3.90 crore 

AT Road 

23.32 crore 

Pandu 

4.23 crore 

Guwahati University 

9.21 crore 

Fatasil 

2.37 crore 

2008-09. Again, `120 crore was sanctioned 

under the same project for 

cleaning of Bharalu and the Bahini 

River. Apart from these, the GMDA 

has shown an addition amount of `20 

Cr in the name of cleaning Bharralu 

since 2006-07- 2009-10 from the 

fund of state planning. 

It seems that during the last 13 

years of the Congress government, 

no stone has been left unturned so far 

to warm the pockets of the corrupt 

ministers. It is very pathetic that the 

gateway to the North East has been 

dubbed as the one of the dirtiest cities 

in the country. Had the money 

been properly utilised, the people 

of Guwahati would have been saved 

from all the miseries that accompany 

a heavy downpour.

G PLUS JUL 26 - AUG 01, 2014 9 

CM’S INTERVENTION VITAL TO COMPLETE ROPEWAY 

The ropeway project, which was initiated in 2003 still has to see the light of day. After being on the list of exciting upcoming 

projects for almost a decade, there is a fear that it will never take off. 

RAHUL CHANDA 

The Assam government might 

brag that it is working hard to 

develop all its major cities and 

that Guwahati receives special attention, 

but time and again it is realised 

that any new project in the city takes 

ages to get completed. The metro rail 

plan is still under feasibility study and 

similarly, the recent urban floods have 

proved that the city drainage system 

is far from alright. Any new plan of 

action for any development scheme 

takes ages to complete. 

Likewise is the status of the ropeway, 

which was supposed to be completed 

by 2011, is far from being over 

because of new government rules and 

regulations. So, what exactly went 

wrong with the project and what are 

the hindrances? The ropeway was conceived 

by the Government of Assam as 

an infrastructure project, to introduce 

an additional all-purpose transportation 

arrangement between two banks 

of river Brahmputra. 

The project was taken up way back 

in 2003 by the then Deputy Commissioner 

Kamrup (M) AKA Hazarika 

and accordingly, tenders were invited 

for a passenger ropeway considering 

a boarding and de-boarding station at 

Umananda Island. What is the status 

of the project now? 

The status 

The ropeway project was assigned 

to GMDA in the year 2006 with an administrative 

sanction of `27.73 crores. 

The GMDA was also asked to engage 

IIT, Guwahati or RITES as a consultant 

for preparation of the DPR and for 

project management services. RITES 

prepared a Detailed Project Report 

(DPR) in 2006. The alignment was finalised 

passing over the Umananda 

Island connecting South Bank inside 

Forest Campus near DC Office and the 

North Bank at the hillock behind the 

Doulgobinda Temple with due consideration 

of the heritage status of Urvasi 

and Umananda island. 

In the year 2008, M/s Samir Damodor 

Ropeways Pvt. Ltd was awarded the 

construction work on turnkey design 

and execution basis at a cost of `28.17 

crores through competitive bidding. 

The foundation stone of the above project 

was laid on 4 th December, 2009 by 

the Chief Minister of Assam and there 

after the construction started. 

The ropeway was scheduled to be 

completed by May, 2011, but could 

not be carried forward because of the 

stoppage of work by the Archaeological 

Survey of India (ASI) in February, 

2011 and permission not being granted 

for tilt rectification of well foundation 

No-2 from Urvashi Island citing introduction 

of new ASI Act, 2010. 

By November, 2011 all imported 

equipments worth `7.5 crore had arrived 

and an amount of Rs 22.00 crore 

was spent till date along with 72% of 

the work being completed till February, 

2011. The question now though is why 

the legal hurdles were not studied during 

the preparation of the DPR. 

Archaeological 

aspects 

The likely issues with the Archaeological 

Department during the 

DPR preparation stage was studied 

by RITES. It is mentioned in the DPR 

that discussion was held with the 

Central and State Archaeological Departments 

to learn about the characteristics 

and status of the two islands 

namely Urbashi and Umananda over 

which the proposed alignment is likely 

to pass. Urbashi is an island located at 

a distance of 441m away from south 

bank, protected by the Archaeological 

Department, Government of India. 

The light tower and other sculptures 

were made by the then East India 

Company and it was understood 

by RITES from the discussion with 

the Archaeological Department that 

so far there has been no activity carried 

out to collect any ancient sculptures 

from this island. According to 

the Archaeological Department, these 

sculptures have permanent historic 

importance and hence don’t encourage 

any concerns to take up any kind 

of excavation/exploration work within 

the island. No attempt has been made 

to take support from this island as that 

would be require formal clearance 

from ASI and might have repercussions 

on the fate of the project. 

Similarly, Umananda is an island 

at a distance of 661mts from the south 

bank comprising of 20,000 square 

metres approximately. The only architectural 

masonry in this island is a 

century old temple of Lord Shiva and 

most of the island is covered by this 

temple and its peripheral infrastructure 

like the courtyard, the approach 

and staircases from the ferry ghat and 

the ring road on the periphery of the 

island used for maintenance. Since 

Umananda is isolated from the mainland, 

it has no power and drinking water 

connection. 

Since the island is an isolated 

place and has no system like power 

and drinking water and sewerage 

disposal system, there is no socioeconomic 

demand for mass transportation 

system that connects Guwahati 

or North Guwahati. Keeping that in 

mind, it was ruled that the virginity 

of the island should be maintained 

and hence, the facilities of boarding 

and de-boarding at Umananada were 

ruled out. 

The ropeway was 

scheduled to be 

completed by May, 

2011, but could not 

be carried forward 

because of the 

stoppage of work by 

the Archaeological 

Survey of India 

(ASI) in February, 

2011 and 

permission not 

being granted for 

tilt rectification 

of well foundation 

No-2 from Urvashi 

Island citing 

introduction of new 

ASI Act, 2010. 

The Umananda Island does not 

permit any further land use for any 

purpose. However, for technical reasons, 

a support would be drawn from 

this island that would be required a 

maximum of 16 square metres of area 

that will ensure the Ropeway will be 

at a height of 32 to 35m. The island 

was not in the list of protected monuments 

of national importance until 

Sept, 2010 but when the State Archeological 

Department approached the 

District Administration Kamrup (M) 

for assessment of the monuments for 

declaration as protected monument 

in 2011, it included the Umananda Island 

thereafter. 

In view of the DPR study of the 

archaeological aspect , RITES perhaps 

did not suggest any NOC requirement 

from the Archeological Department 

as mentioned in the DPR. The NOC 

from National Water Authority of India 

(NWAI) for Navigational Clearance 

and Environmental Clearance 

from Ministry of Environment & Forest 

(MoEF), Government of India was 

obtained as a statuary requirement for 

such project. 

The obstacle 

The main problem started when 

the archaeological issues came into 

effect from March, 2010. The Ancient 

Monuments and Archaeological Sites 

and Remain (Amendment and Validation) 

Act, 2010 was notified by ASI in 

March, 2010. According to the act, the 

prohibited area extends up to a distance 

of a 100 metre radius from the 

monument. In addition, the regulated 

area extends up to a distance of 200 

metres radius from the protected area. 

A construction in the protected 

City 

and regulatory areas, require permission 

from ASI/National Monument 

Authority. As a result of the act, ASI 

declined to issue permission to construct 

the anchor block at Urvashi 

Island and the tilt correction of T-2 

well foundation became remote and 

has been abandoned by a committee 

chaired by Additional Chief Secretary, 

Assam. 

RITES has been asked to prepare 

an alternative profile by shifting the 

well location of T-2,which has been 

done and submitted to the technical 

committee for scrutiny and approval. 

The alternative proposal contains 

abandoning of Well-2, construction 

of a new well at alternate site 

and other changes. the proposal will 

cost an additional `12.14 Crores. The 

Technical Committee after examining 

the proposal found that the pillar 

at Umananda cannot be avoided and 

advised the GMDA to take permission 

from ASI before scrutiny. The revised 

Profile was submitted to the Director 

Archaeology, Assam and ASI for approval, 

highlighting the T-3 tower at 

Umananda hillock but the Director 

declined to approve construction of 

the T-3 pillar at Umananda Island. 

The GMDA also applied for the 

permission to ASI, Delhi but they 

insisted that the application should 

come through the competent authority, 

which is the Director Archaeology 

Assam. GMDA is of the view that 

since the competent authority has already 

declined the permission, so it 

will be decline again. 

Latest status 

The GMDA has requested the 

Chief Minister, Assam to intervene in 

the matter and issue instructions so 

that the NOC to the pillar foundation 

at Umananda Island can be obtained. 

According to GMDA officials, they 

have submitted necessary applications 

for the issue of NOC to ASI through 

competent authority i.e. Director of 

Archaeology, Assam. The Director has 

forwarded the proposal to the National 

Monument Authority with a remark 

that the construction falls within the 

restricted area. If this recommendation 

is approved by NMA, then the 

dream of Guwahatians to travel by 

ropeway will never happen. 

The project has been pending 

since 2011 and it has been almost 3 

years since the problem has not been 

solved. Some officials may be working 

extra time to complete the project but 

political involvement is required to 

make it a success. Tarun Gogoi should 

talk to all the caretakers and find a solution 

to get the permission which has 

already eaten up public money worth 

`22 crores. The archaeological sites 

are important but development is also 

a process awaited by people of any city. 

The archaeological department should 

rethink on the permission and give a 

few alternatives to complete the work. 


10 

The Week That Was 

CITY NEWS 

GMC to seal 20 marriage halls 

Acting tough against unauthorized 

commercial establishments, 

the Guwahati 

Municipal Corporation (GMC) 

has decided to seal 20 bibah bhavans 

(marriage halls) in the city. 

On July 24, GMC issued sealing 

notice to 20 banquet halls of the 

city and according to the GMC Act 

1971, 337(A)(1) these halls would be 

sealed on August 1. The marriage 

halls, which will be sealed soon, 

were found to be lacking commercial 

licence, proper parking places 

or requisite NOCs from the GMC, 

Guwahati Metropolitan Development 

Authority (GMDA) and 

Senior Superintendent of Police. 

The marriage halls are Annapurna 

Bhavan (Beltola Tiniali), Aashirwad 

Function Hall (Six Mile), Bimala 

Bibah Bhavan (Jayanagar), Decora 

Bibah Bhavan (Zoo Road Tiniali), 

Gunjan Bibah Bhavan (Udalbakra), 

Jonaki Kareng (Narikalbasti), Jun 

Beli Bibah Bhavan (VIP Road), 

Konika Bibah Bhavan (Baruwari), 

Lakhimi Bibah Bhavan (Beltola), 

Nirala Bibah Bhavan (Beltola Tiniali), 

Subha Mangalam Bibah Bhavan 

(Birubari), Sonam Marriage 

Hall (Pandu Port Road), Uruli 

Bibah Bhavan (Kalapahar), Uttam 

Bibah Bhavan (Hatigaon), Bandana 

Bibah Bhavan (Lalganesh), Royal 

Palace (Patharquarry), Aashirwad 

(Lokahara Road), Asian Palace 

(Bora Service), Raj Laxmi bhavan 

(Aadagudam), and Surya Subham 

Bibah Bhavan (Kalapahar). 

The Kamrup Metro district administration 

on July 21 started 

the revenue survey of major 

water-bodies in the city – Borsola, 

Sarusola, Bondajan and Deepor Beel – 

as well as of low-lying and flood-prone 

localities including Lachit Nagar, Rajgarh, 

Tarun Nagar, Nabin Nagar and 

G PLUS JUN 26 - AUG 01, 2014 

Admin begins revenue survey of water-bodies 

Pub-Sarania. The intention behind 

the survey is intended to identify encroachments 

at such locations so that 

the problem can be tackled in a better 

manner. Dr M Angamuthu, Kamrup 

Metro DC (in-charge) has directed 

that pump sets be kept ready on 24- 

hour standby to deal with any contingency. 

Meanwhile, Kamrup Metro 

Additional DC Rajib Kumar Baruah 

has been asked to study and identify 

ways to ensure proper flow of rain-water 

out of Anil Nagar and other such 

localities. He will consult with locals, 

civic organizations and other concerned 

stakeholders. 

GMC to make use of flyover spaces 


(GMC) has decided 

to use spaces under the city’s 

flyovers to set up public toilets, 

shops and parking lots. A meeting 

was held recently between Kamrup 

(metro) deputy commissioner, GMC 

commissioner and a senior superintendent 

of police on the issue. “The 

meeting discussed the necessity of 

utilising spaces under flyovers and 

decided to construct toilets, shops 

and parking lots there,” the source 

said. Spaces under the flyovers have 

been lying unused since 2008 after 

the district administration decided 

to fence them off because of security 

reasons following a powerful blast 

under Ganeshguri flyover in that 

year. Senior superintendent of police 

Anand Prakash Tiwari told the media 

that proper security measures, including 

installation of CCTVs, would 

be taken under the flyovers. The 

Money looted 

at Meghdoot 

Bhavan 

Miscreants looted Rs 93,500 

from Meghdoot Bhawan, 

the General Post Office located 

at Panbazar in the city on July 24 

afternoon. The incident took place at 

around 3.25 pm. Employees said the 

cash was looted from counter number 

11 of the GPO. Postal assistant Suren 

Talukdar was at the counter. Two 

outsiders visited the counter and told 

Talukdar that they lost some money 

at the counter. They claimed that a 

few notes fell on the floor inside the 

counter. Talukdar took some time to 

look around his cabin. When he returned, 

he found that the two men 

were missing and had already left the 

Meghdoot Bhawan. Cash amounting 

to Rs 93,500, which was at the table of 

his counter, was also missing. Officials 

of the GPO have lodged a complaint 

with Panbazar police station. No arrests 

have been made so far. Police is 

investigating the case. 

step has been seen as a relief for the 

residents as it does not have enough 

public toilets. The seriousness of the 

problem can be gauged from an incident 

when two women reporters last 

year filed a PIL (public interest litigation) 

in Gauhati High Court urging 

the court to direct government 

agencies to maintain separate toilets 

for women in all locations under the 

GMC. 

Protected 

areas 

declared 

The District Magistrate, 

Kamrup(M), M Angamuthu, by 

an order, has declared certain 

areas of the city as protected areas with 

effect from July 28. This has been done 

with a view to regulate the entry of unauthorised 

persons into these areas. 

The Scheduled areas, which have been 

declared as protected areas, include the 

Southern side of the GS Road starting 

from Ganeshguri flyover up to the Super 

Market Police Point, from Last Gate 

along the RP Road up to the entry point 

of the Assam Legislative Assembly, 60 

Feet Road starting from Super Market 

Police Point to Last Gate and from Ganesh 

Mandir up to Ganeshguri Chariali. 

No person or group of persons, except 

the bonafide residents and public servants 

of the Assam Secretariat and other 

offices attached there, shall enter or loiter 

around without permissions from 

the Kamrup (M) District Magistrate, or 

any officer duly authorised by him on his 

behalf. 

Police fails to 

reduce vehicle 

thefts 

Vehicle owners in the city 

suffer as the Guwahati 

Police fail to crack down 

on the identical modus operandi 

of the inter-state vehicle lifting 

racket in the region. The spread 

of this crime can be gauged by 

the fact that, by May 2014, a total 

of 4,552 vehicle theft cases 

were reported this year in Guwahati 

alone since 2010. An official 

police report states that in 

each month of 2014, over a 100 

vehicles have been stolen. “At 

least 567 vehicle lifting cases 

were registered in Guwahati in 

the first five months of this year 

out of which only 51 were recovered,” 

read the statistics. In 

a recent trend, racketeers have 

also started targeting heavy motor 

vehicles like trucks.”More 

alarming is the fact that, in 

many cases, the drivers of the 

stolen vehicles have been brutally 

assaulted and even killed, 

with at least 71 drivers killed in 

the last three years,” added the 

official. Although the city police 

had announced to launch a 

technology based drive to curb 

the menace of vehicle lifting in 

the city, nothing has been done 

so far. Last year, the Guwahati 

police had said that they were 

working on a mobile based application 

to alert vehicle lifting 

cases speedily, but it has not 

been introduced to the public as 

of now. 

DoNER approached for aviation 

council in Ghy 

Book launched 

on authentic 

Assamese 

cuisine 

A 

great buzz of excitement was 

witnessed at the book launch 

of “Authentic Traditional Assamese 

Home recipes” by writer and 

food connoisseur Dr. Chandan Baruah 

on July 20. The book was unveiled 

by Zarifa Wahid, noted actress 

and social activist in the midst of good 

numbers of guests who attended the 

event at Hotel Grand Starline, Guwahati. 

The book elucidates authentic Assamese 

recipes especially meat dishes 

including the health benefits of the 

ingredients involved. It is meant for 

the young lovers of Assamese cuisine 

who are always on the lookout of traditional 

meat recipes to satiate their 

taste buds. The book is a tribute to the 

exoticness of the Assamese cuisine 

which is not only simple to cook but 

very healthy too. Speaking at the event 

Dr. Chandan Baruah said “Through 

my book, I intend to make Assamese 

cooking popular amongst food connoisseurs 

across India and the world 

highlighting its taste, beauty and exoticness. 

The purpose of writing the 

book shall be fulfilled when people 

will churn out the wonderful dishes 

mentioned for their loved ones and 

surprise them.” 

A 

proposal for the creation of a 

Northeast Aviation Council 

has been sent to the Union 

DoNER ministry by the College of 

Aeronautical Engineering (CAE), 

based in Guwahati. Addressing a 

news conference here on July 22, Bikrom 

Singha Lahkar, chief trustee of 

CAE, said, “Modern aviation can play 

a huge role in health, tourism and 

disaster management. Industries are 

still underdeveloped in the northeast. 

Out of 22 airports located in northeast, 

only 11 are considered fully operational. 

We need to change this scenario 

as soon as possible and this can 

be done only with due attention from 

the Centre and assistance from the 

state governments,” CAE’s representatives 

recently gave a proposal to Union 

DoNER minister General (Retd) V K 

Singh in Guwahati, requesting him to 

play a proactive role in constituting 

an aviation council for the northeast. 

The proposal said the council can be 

started with 100% direct funding from 

the DoNER ministry to tide over the 

initial fund crunch. 

Aastha 

celebrates 

one-year 

anniversary 

Aastha is celebrating 1st year anniversary 

of its exclusive diamond 

jewellery showroom in 

Guwahati. Thanking its patrons of Guwahati, 

Rajendra Deorah, and managing 

partner of the company expressed 

its gratitude to the people of Guwahati 

and Assam for making Aastha their 

preferred brand for diamond Jewellery. 

Aastha has two more showrooms 

in Assam at Dibrugarh and Nagaon. 

On the occasion of 1st anniversary, 

the company has announced a 

never before offer where up to 25% 

discount is given on diamond jewellery 

for a period from July 20-27,2014. 

The company celebrated its 1st anniversary 

at Terra Mayya with its valued 

customers.

G PLUS JUL 26 - AUG 01, 2014 11 

City faces 

power 

shortage 

A 

fault in the 33 KV Kahilipara-Ulubari 

transmission 

line, that occurred around 

2 pm made life miserable for the 

people in several parts of the city on 

July 24. However, the fault was repaired 

and the line was restored 

around 5:10 pm, said sources in the 

Assam Power Distribution Company 

Ltd (APDCL). The city has a power 

demand of around 220 MW during 

the day hours in these hot summer 

days, while in the evening hours 

(6 pm to 11 pm), it has a power demand 

of around 240 MW. There was 

a power availability of around 200 

MW in the city till the fault occurred, 

sources said. There is a shortfall of 

around 100 MW of power in the State 

during the day time, while its shortfall 

stands at around 200 MW during 

the evening hours, sources said. 

Three persons, including two 

women, were killed in a major 

accident involving a trekker 

and a truck on the VIP Road in the 

city on July 24. The trekker, with registration 

number AS01 Q 8260, was 

plying from Narengi to Six Mile. A 

truck coming from opposite direction 

rammed into the trekker near 

Pratiksha Hospital at around 3.30 

pm in the afternoon. There were 14 

ASCW demands 

more street lights 

The Assam State Commission 

for Women (ASCW) 

has demanded more streetlights 

across the state to ensure 

safety of Women after a study revealed 

that 51% crimes in Guwahati 

take place due to ill-lit streets. 

“The poor state of streetlights 

is a major problem. Women are 

vulnerable after sunset and ill-lit 

streets across the state are adding 

to their misery,” said commission 

chairperson Meera Barooah. The 

commission pressed for improved 

safety of women while travelling. 

“At least 20% of the city buses 

plying in Guwahati should be reserved 

for women. It was due to 

our pressure that two buses for 

women teachers are plying between 

Guwahati and Morigaon. 

Another 10 buses for women 

teachers will be introduced from 

August,” she added. The Kamrup 

district transport office (DTO) has 

decided to run women-only city 

buses from Wednesday. Initially, 

six city buses will operate, with 

two lady conductors in each, on 

trial basis. The women conductors 

have been trained in the martial 

arts. 

Three killed in major city mishap 

passengers in the trekker. Three of 

them were killed on the spot. One of 

the victims was identified as Dipika 

Kalita of Hajo. Another unidentified 

woman and a youth also died on the 

spot. All the eleven other passengers 

and the driver were injured and 

rushed to GMCH. Six of them were 

stated to have sustained critical injuries. 

Noonmati police has seized the 

truck. 

KMSS seeks change of land 

categories 

Protesting against the state government’s 

decision to hand over 

agricultural lands to capitalists 

for non–agricultural purposes, 

hundreds of Krishak Mukti Sangram 

Samiti (KMSS) activists staged a hunger 

strike near Dighalipukhuri in Guwahati 

on July 21 in support of their 

demand for the immediate cancellation 

of the Assam Government’s Revenue 

and Disaster Management Department’s 

office memorandum. The 

office memorandum, according to the 

KMSS, relaxed the procedure for the 

change of categories of agricultural 

lands so as to use them for non–agricultural 

purposes like the setting up of 

industries and private establishments 

for business purposes. The worst sufferers 

of this relaxation would be 

the poor farmers, especially those of 

flood–affected areas, the KMSS said. 

According to reports, KMSS joint secretary 

Kamal Kumar Medhi said that 

the state government was out to hand 

over the agricultural lands of the poor 

farmers of the state to capitalists. He 

said that a conspiracy to hand over 

the agricultural lands of the farmers 

to capitalists was highlighted by the 

state government in the form of the office 

memorandum that was set to spell 

doom for the people of the state, especially 

the poor farmers. Capitalists 

Suresh Pithani, Kailash Lohiya, Ram 

Avatar Borakeya and others acquired 

thousands of bighas of agricultural 

lands in the state, he added. 

Cops to use 

new software 

for verification 

In order to improve verification 

services in the city Guwahati Police 

will soon add a new technical 

tool. Senior superintendent of police 

(city) Anand Prakash Tiwari on July 

22 said the Crimatrix, a portal started 

last year for online collection of guest 

lists from hotels, will soon add a new 

facility to update the city residents 

about the status of files for police verification. 

Crimatrix is an online portal 

using which hotels in Guwahati can 

upload details of their guests every 

day online. Already 340 hotels are using 

this service. “As soon as the new 

software is ready, we will be able to 

send a text message to the applicants 

about the status of their files for police 

verification for passports. A text will 

be sent to the mobile phone number of 

the applicant as soon as his or her file 

reaches the police station, district special 

branch or the office of the senior 

superintendent of police,” Tiwari said. 

“We hope to start the service as a trial 

next month and will be fully functional 

from September. Once this service 

starts, applicants will not have to run 

from police station to superintendent 

of police office for status of their files,” 

Tiwari added. 

Members of the All Assam 

Students’ Union (AASU) 

and 26 organisations representing 

the State’s indigenous populace 

staged a dharna in front of the Raj 

Bhawan on July 21 in protest against 

the illegal cross-border migration 

from Bangladesh. The protesters also 

demanded Constitutional safeguards 

Train runs 

over forest 

guard near 

Deepor 

Beel 

The railway track that 

runs near the Deepor 

Beel has been infamous 

for deaths of elephants, but 

on July 20 a forest guard was 

killed at the site. A herd of elephants 

came to Deepor Beel 

last night leading a team of forest 

personnel to go to the spot 

to chase them away. While 

chasing the herd of elephants 

from the beel, the train came 

and hit a forest guard, Kalia 

Boro, at Chakardou. Boro was 

soon admitted to the Gauhati 

Medical College and Hospital 

(GMCH) where he breathed 

his last. Boro hailed from 

Mikir Gaon near Chakardou. 

ASUS announced the launch 

of the highly anticipated ZenFone 

series at a press event 

in Guwahati. During the event, 

ASUS introduced the design philosophy 

of the ZenFone and the exclusive 

ASUS Zen UI mobile interface. 

Consumers can now experience the 

all new ZenFone, available in a range 

of different sizes and colours. All 

ZenFone models come with ASUS 

Zen UI, the brand new mobile user 

interface with over 1,000 enhancements 

that make ASUS mobile devices 

even more fun and seamless to 

use. “It gives us immense pleasure to 

bring the incredible Zenfone Series 

to Guwahati. Being the educational 

for the indigenous people. The agitators 

later submitted a memorandum 

to the Governor, highlighting their 

grievances and seeking their redress. 

Pointing out that the Assam Accord 

had specifically mentioned Constitutional 

safeguards for the indigenous 

people who face the risk of being marginalised 

in their homeland in the face 

The Week That Was 

CITY NEWS 

ASUS launches ZenFone in Ghy 

hub of Assam and the north-eastern 

region of India, Guwahati was an 

essential choice for us to showcase 

our premium smartphone series. 

We are affirmative that Zenfones 

will woo our audience in the city 

further. Zenfones truly redefine the 

smartphone experience that the tech 

savvy generation in the country has 

ever witnessed. We would be backing 

this launch with our increasing 

presence in the Indian market to 

match up to the demand and propose 

to expand the number of stores 

to 200 this year.” said Peter Chang, 

Regional Head - South Asia and 

Country Manager – System Business 

Group - ASUS India. 

AASU, ethnic bodies protest against influx 

of large-scale illegal cross-border migration 

from Bangladesh, the AASU 

said that through its various acts of 

omission and commission, including 

the latest move to grant relaxed visa 

to sections of Bangladeshi citizens, the 

Centre had made it clear that the interests 

of the indigenous people were 

not in its mind.

12 

Politicking 

G PLUS JUN 26 - AUG 01, 2014 

DESPERATE MEASURES 

Has it ALL gone wrong for hbs? 

RAHUL CHANDA 

In an unexpected climax to the 

two year old drama of the state 

Congress dissidence issue, the 

rebel leader, State Health and Education 

Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma 

(HBS) quit the cabinet, tendering his 

resignation directly to the State Governor 

JB Patnaik instead of the Chief 

Minister Tarun Gogoi, breaking all 

conventions. Later on, he also sent a 

copy of his resignation letter to Gogoi. 

After submitting his resignation, 

Sarma told the media, “It is not 

possible mentally, physically and 

politically to work under Chief Minister 

Tarun Gogoi.” Once the state 

Congress trouble-shooter and Gogoi’s 

favourite loyalist, HBS finally 

quit Gogoi’s camp formally putting a 

question on his future move. Sarma 

was rumoured to be the next suitable 

Chief Ministerial candidate of the 

state after Gogoi, but his unexpected 

exit has raised doubts on the political 

scenario. That his resignation was 

accepted proves that Tarun Gogoi has 

more weight in the party than Sarma, 

but what exactly went wrong with 

Sarma’s move? 

The move 

It was quite clear, with various 

political analysts too feeling that HBS 

had an ambition to become the Chief 

Minister. After his resignation, All 

India Congress Committee (AICC) 

spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said, 

“It was an issue of personal ambition 

and of denial of post. The ambition 

is to be the chief minister. Those issues 

of personal ambition and need 

for the post of chief minister cannot 

be accommodated within the constitutional 

contours of the Congress 

party. Therefore, this has to be dealt 

with.” Singhvi also hinted at the 

possibility of the AICC initiating 

disciplinary actions. With the high 

command believing that Sarma had 

personal ambitions to go against the 

CM, the move to openly defy Gogoi 

just one and half years before the assembly 

elections was unwise and uncalled 

for. Sarma could have waited 

till the next elections and place his 

will in front of the high command as 

after Gogoi, he seemed like one of the 

suitable chief ministerial candidates. 

After the Lok Sabha elections defeat, 

the Congress party were already in a 

state of shock, and Himanta coming 

out openly against Gogoi fuelled the 

already burning dissidence issue. 

Over confidence 

Whether Gogoi acted or not after 

the LS Poll defeat is a different 

question, but Sarma somewhere felt 

that Gogoi’s resignation would be accepted 

and there would be a change 

in the leadership of the state. Gogoi 

Those issues 

of personal 

ambition and 

need for the post 

of chief minister 

cannot be 

accommodated 

within the 

constitutional 

contours of the 

Congress party. 

Abhishek Singhvi 

Spokesperson, (AICC) 

resigned but the high command did 

not accept the resignation and this 

was a sign Sarma should have probably 

understood, but he was irked by 

the decision and openly came out in 

media, daring the chief minister to 

continue with his chair. 

When AICC observer Mallikarjun 

Kharge visited the city to resolve 

the Congress crisis, the rebel group 

was overconfident about the outcome 

of the meeting between Kharge and 

the other MLAs. Sarma and team 

thought that around 50 MLAs had 

told Kharge that they don’t want 

Gogoi as the chief minister. Kharge 

was expected to submit his report to 

the high command which he did and 

Sarma thought after that the high 

command would take a decision to 

change the leadership, but it never 

happened. 

Sarma alleged that after Kharge’s 

visit, Gogoi startedto indulge in communal 

politics. But whatever be the 

political motive, Sarma should have 

analysed Gogoi’s relationship with 

the high command and the weight 

Gogoi has because of the Gandhi 

family backing. 

Choosing the wrong 

people 

Himanta Biswa Sarma was confident 

about the MLAs he had in his 

camp, but all did not sing the same 

tune. The State PHE minister and 

Barak Valley heavy weight Gautam 

Roy was the first one to openly announce 

that HBS should be the Chief 

Minister instead of Tarun Gogoi and 

also claimed that the rebel group 

would make sure that Tarun Gogoi 

is removed from his chair within 15 

days. According to sources, Roy also 

sponsored the rebel MLA group’s 

travel and stay expenses in Delhi 

when they went to meet the high 

command. 

The twist however came in when 

Himanta went to submit his resignation 

to the Governor on Monday 

with 27 MLAs - Gautam Roy was 

missing from the scene! It was even 

more shocking when the CM sacked 

two Himanta aides - Dr Ardhendu 

Kumar Dey and Siddique Ahmed but 

Roy was not issued any notice. Sources 

in the party said that Gautam Roy 

had shifted party and has joined the 

Gogoi camp dumping Sarma for the 

fear of losing the ministry. 

Two years back when the dissidence 

issue started, it was rumoured 

that Himanata had the backing of 48 

MLAs, but finally when he resigned 

only 27 MLAs accompanied him. So, 

gradually all people he counted on 

started turning away. The giant politician 

should have understood the 

politics of power instead of relying on 

the wrong people. 

Aggressiveness 

It is widely believed that Himanta 

Biswa Sarma is a powerful politician 

because of his political ideas and hence 

was considered as a suitable chief ministerial 

candidate. However, along with 

positive qualities, some negatives too 

rule the human brains. Sarma is considered 

to be very aggressive on certain 

occasions. 

Sarma openly slammed Gogoi for 

not being able to work efficiently as 

a home minister and bragged about 

his own efficiency in the health and 

education sector of the state. He also 

expressed his anger against Gogoi loyalist 

Rockybul Hussain in front of the 

media. All his moves from slamming 

Gogoi to resigning were almost desperate. 

Instead, he could have gradually 

worked on developing a good 

relationshop with the high command 

and could have pulled political weight 

put on Gogoi by the Gandhis, towards 

himself. 

There is rumour in the political 

cirles that HBS is planning to float another 

political party and that Gogoi is 

also ready to talk with the rebel MLAs 

backing Himanta. In this situation even 

if Sarma claims that he is not in the 

Chief Ministerial race, his hidden ambitions 

might take a long time to come 

true. For the time being though, Gogoi 

seems to be coming out all aces. 


G PLUS JUL 26 - AUG 01, 2014 13 

TRAI FOR SPECTRUM SHARING 

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) recommendation of allowing 

telecom companies to share spectrum will hugely benefit the two telecom circles 

of Assam and Northeast India. 

SHAMBHAVI 

Business 

Thumps Up 

launches 

campaign 

VEER in 

Guwahati 

This is expected to help telcos 

to increase their spectrum 

without participating in auctions 

and enable debt-ridden telcos 

to monetise their spectrum to reduce 

debt. This could also possibly result 

in improved service quality and lower 

tariffs from the providers. 

“Overall, the recommendations 

provide additional options to operators 

for bridging their spectrum 

deficit,” said Jaideep Ghosh, partner 

at KPMG, who tracks the telecom 

market in India.The market is upbeat 

about the proposal. 

The Telecom Regulatory Authority 

of India (TRAI) has proposed that 

only two operators can share spectrum 

in a circle, and even if part of 

spectrum in that circle is shared, it 

will be regarded that the entire circle’s 

spectrum is being shared between the 

telcos. 

Idea Cellular’s Chief Executive 

Himanshu Kapania said spectrum 

sharing would be considered as the 

last avenue to increase spectrum capacity. 

“Once spectrum trading policy 

is unveiled and the government releases 

additional spectrum blocks in 2100 

MHz band, then sharing becomes 

important for the remaining quantum 

 

 

 

 

 

 

of spectrum to complete capacity demand.” 

Those related to the sector said 

inaccessible areas of Northeast Indian 

will benefit from this move. Assam 

has sought installation of close to 2000 

mobile towers to ramp up connectivity 

in the hills districts and border areas 

which will assist in countering the 

insurgents as these area often work as 

major hideouts and transit route for 

the insurgents. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Telecom 

Regulatory Authority 

of India (TRAI) has 

proposed that only 

two operators can 

share spectrum in a 

circle, and even if part 

of spectrum in that 

circle is shared, it will 

be regarded that the 

entire circle’s spectrum 

is being shared 

between the telcos. 

 

 

 

 

National Advisory Council 

(NAC) during the UPA government 

had suggested the preparation of a 

comprehensive telecom plan exclusive 

to the North Eastern region. NAC had 

recommended that given the importance 

of this sector to other areas of 

the development, it is recommended 

that government needs look at telecom 

services in the North East Region 

(NER) as “essential service” and not as 

“obligation”. 

 

 

 

 

With the aim of reaching 

more than 1000 Persons 

with disabilities with 

skill training and employability opportunities, 

the largest soft drink 

brand Thums Up and Salman 

Khan’s Being Human Foundation, 

in association with the American 

India Foundation (AIF), brought 

their collaborative initiative Campaign 

VEER to Guwahati. The 

campaign VEER – Unleashing the 

Inner Potential of Persons with 

Disabilities was officially launched 

in Guwahati on July 22. 

Shishu Sarothi, the implementing 

partner in Guwahati 

commenced the first batch of 

youth with disabilities who will be 

trained under the Veer campaign 

on employability skills. The batch is 

being trained in basic communication 

skills, computer skills and soft 

skills, amongst others to enhance 

employability and offered employability 

support upon completion 

of training. One of the tenets of 

the campaign is to raise advocacy 

on issues revolving around inclusiveness, 

employability of PwD’s 

and workplace accessibility. People 

with disabilities have the talent to 

pursue meaningful careers and 

play a role in India’s economic success. 

A lack of training prevents 

disabled people from finding work 

and to improve their employment 

opportunities, Campaign VEER 

now commences the activity of 

providing skills training to them in 

Guwahati. 

Speaking about the initiative, 

Debabrata Mukherjee, VP-Marketing 

& Commercial, Coca-Cola 

India said, “We launched campaign 

VEER to take forward Thums Up’s 

philosophy of ‘unleashing the potential 

within’. There is a clear need 

in the country to bring people with 

disabilities into the mainstream 

and this requires a major change in 

mindset. This is what we are doing 

with VEER. It gives me great pleasure 

to welcome the first batch of 

people in Guwahati to benefit under 

the campaign. I would like to 

thank our partners Being Human, 

AIF and Shishu Sarothi for all their 

support.” Speaking about the campaign, 

Ms. Alvira Agnihotri of Being 

Human said, “Today we are officially 

bringing Campaign VEER 

to Guwahati and this is a great 

moment for this movement. We 

thank our NGO partners AIF and 

Shishu Sarothi along with Thums 

Up for being such integral parts of 

this campaign.” With the support 

of AIF, the campaign is working 

at imparting vocational training 

to these individuals and ascertains 

their requirements so that they can 

be made job-ready.

2 THE SEC ND COMING 

The second-hand bike market in the city is doing well in spite of 

irresistible loans and low EMIs. 

14 

Bazaar 

Shubhojit Roy 

G PLUS JUN 26 - AUG 01, 2014 

Bikes have always fascinated 

men since its inception and 

are also greatly considered as 

a symbol of power and masculinity. 

Even though bikes or motorcycles 

have come a long way with the advancement 

in technology, sophistication 

and style; and with so many 

options available to choose a perfect 

two-wheeler provided by a number 

of brands, the demand for a second 

hand bike is still high. G Plus finds 

out what it is like to own a used bike 

and how the market scenario in the 

city is. 

The market 

One may find a 2 nd hand bike 

market anywhere in the city, but Rajgarh 

Road is the oldest den of second-hand 

vehicles in the city. “We are 

the oldest used car and mororcycle 

seller in the North east. It was after us 

that many others started with similar 

businesses,” says Chandan Bora, Proprietor 

at New Done Motors. Bora 

further states, “The Rajgarh market 

of used vehicles started around 10 

years back. At first, the idea was to 

sell the second-hand cars because the 

demand was high among the middle 

class people at that time due to nonavailability 

of attractive EMIs and 

flexible bank loan options for brand 

new cars. Gradually, we thought that 

it would not be a bad idea if we include 

used two-wheelers as well and 

since then, the market has persisted.” 

The season 

However, there is no specific season 

or month for buying any used 

vehicle in Guwahati, but still it is 

seen that most vehicles are being sold 

from summer to autumn. “Usually, 

the demand starts plying in after the 

college exams as many youths prefer 

to buy two wheelers at that time. 

Also, during Vishwakarma Puja and 

Durga Puja, the demand is good,” 

says Chandan Bora. It was found out 

that due to rapid growth in online 

market, more buyers and sellers now 

prefer online deals than going to any 

conventional shop where they also 

have to pay a percentage commission. 

Price and Brands 

There is no specific amount to 

know what should be the best price to 

either sell or buy a used vehicle, but 

it usually depends on certain factors 

like redo cost, 3 rd party commission 

and transportation charges, if any. 

Here are some of the approximate 

figures for different two wheelers. 

Yamaha RX 100 

`30,000 approx. (pre 1996 model) 

Hero Honda CBZ 

`35,000 (8-10 years old) 

TVS Splendour 

`25,000 to 35,000 (5 years old) 

Royal Enfield Classic 

`75,000 and above (any year made) 

LML Vespa 

`15,000 approx. (15 years old) 

Bajaj Classic 

`10,000 to 15,000 (15 years old) 

Other newer models 

`10,000 to 15,000 less than the 1st 

hand showroom price (less than 1 

year old) 

The problem 

With any 2 nd hand material, it is 

never easy to determine how long the 

product will last. Similarly, for the 

used vehicles too, there is no guarantee 

how on how long or well the 

vehicle is going to run. Sometimes, 

the outside polish of the vehicle can 

deceive you too. Arnab Bezbaruah, a 

college student from the city says, “I 

bought my first motorcycle, a Honda 

Stunner in the year 2012. It was a 2 nd 

hand bike and it looked very sharp 

and glossy as it was only a year old or 

so. When I rode it for 1 st time, it was 

smooth but soon after two months, it 

started showing lots of problem. I had 

to take it to the garage every week. I 

had to lose the bike after 6 months of 

struggle; it was a loss for me.” 

There might be some instances of 

the machines failing its master, but 

there is no doubt that bikes will not 

fail to impress men. The bonding between 

the man and his machine (motorcycle 

in this context) is immensely 

powerful, sustainable and un-detachable, 

be it a second hand or first. 


G PLUS JUL 26 - AUG 01, 2014 15 

Ward Watch 

RUKMINIGAON 

SETTING URBAN EXAMPLES 

SHUBHOJIT ROY 

Ward No 26 | Sub Division 26A/ 26B/ 26C/ 26D | Major Issues None 

Located near 6 th miles and the 

Down town hospital area, Rukminigaon 

is one of most residentially 

posh area in the city. There is 

not much concern in the area except 

for some petty issues. The roads have 

been paved well with drains on sides. 

The area also has a small market at the 

entrance point of Rukminigaon from 

GS Road that caters to the necessities 

of the residents of the area. It was 

also seen that besides apartments and 

private lands, the area also have few 

offices. G Plus finds out about life at 

Rukminigaon and also tries to find out 

if there are any issues in the area. 

Cleanliness issue 

“You will find that the people in 

the area are socially aware and educated 

about their duties and responsibility. 

Well, some people might be 

there who are ignorant which is there 

in every society but most of the residents 

take care of their surroundings 

and road,” says Akash Gogoi, a private 

investor and a businessman who has 

been living in the area for the past 9 

years. It was evident that the drains 

were cleaned regularly in the area, 

there was no garbage lying in the area 

as well. There are only very few areas 

in the city that are distant from problems 

pertaining to roads, drainage and 

cleanliness. 

Rent problem 

It is understandable that everyone 

prefers living in an area where problems 

are few and people are friendly. 

As a result, the demand for tenancy 

is higher in such area than usual. But 

living might get tougher if your house 

owner objects your lifestyle in every 

possible way. “At first, I only had to 

pay the rent, the electricity and the 

water bill. But after two months, I 

don’t know what happened; they (the 

owners) started creating problems 

for me. When I bought my bike, I 

was not allowed to keep it inside the 

premise, now I have to pay for keeping 

my bike as well. Gradually, the restrictions 

grew more, no music after dark, 

no friends allowed inside the gate irrespective 

of their gender and there 

are many more issues,” says an MA 

student from one of the city college 

on condition of anonymity. He further 

adds, “I am searching for a new house 

but I am not willing to leave this area 

for now at all.” 

Friendlies around 

A place turns out to be more 

beautiful when the people around are 

friendlier. Same seems to be the case 

at Rukminigaon of Guwahati. “The 

neighbours in the area are extremely 

WARD 

NO 

26 

“You will find that the people in the area are 

socially aware and educated about their duties 

and responsibility. Well, some people might be 

there who are ignorant which is there in every 

society but most of the residents take care of 

their surroundings and road,” 

supportive, which is the best part 

about this society. There was one occasion 

when we were out of town for 

a week long vacation. On the second 

night, our house was breached by 

some burglars. Mr. Das to our right 

heard some unusual noise and was 

brave enough to see what was going 

on. Seeing the lights being switched 

on, the burglars fled the house but 

our main lock was already broken. 

It was Das who from his own money 

changed the entire lock panel of our 

door the very next day. I will be forever 

grateful for him for that day,” 

reports Biren Changkakoti, a government 

employee in the area. 

It is a good deed of work that has 

been carried out by the authorities and 

the residents to keep Rukminigaon 

under proper maintenance, which 

certainly deserves a pat in the back. 

The area can be an example for many 

other areas in the city where problems 

like garbage disposal, water logging 

and poor road condition are a common 

scene. 


16 

Life 

DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF 

WITH OTHERS... 

ritu gupta 

gritu21@yahoo.com 

G PLUS JUN 26 - AUG 01, 2014 

Comparisons made with others 

will never help anyone of 

us to be happy. How many 

people show their real selves to you? 

It is usually the edited version of 

their reality that they try to portray. 

Have you ever heard anyone discussing 

about their marital disharmony 

openly or in that case of people who 

are going through a rough phase or 

even if your close friend if she is not 

getting along well with her in- laws? 

NO! We never express the brutal part 

of our lives. 

Even if things are not going well, 

yet we probably will bite our tongue 

and say, “Things are really great.”As 

Steve Furtick explains, “The reason 

we struggle with insecurity is because 

we compare our behind-the-scenes 

with everyone else’s highlight reel. 

“A recent study in the Personality 

and Social Psychology Bulletin confirmed 

that people are less likely to 

reveal their negative emotions than 

their positive emotions. Additionally, 

the study found that people tend to 

overestimate the presence of positivity 

in the lives of others, while they 

misinterpret or fail to detect negative 

feelings in others. If you start comparing 

yourself with others, you will 

always find that there is someone better 

than you. If this happens, you will 

lose your confidence and your life 

will become stressful. 

In addition, there are chances 

that you find someone worse than 

you. If such a thing happens, the feeling 

can turn into a horrible pride. 

It will make you self pompous and 

will make you feel the superior one. 

If you want to be the best, then BE 

YOURSELF. Accept yourself with all 

your weaknesses and don’t compare 

yourself with others. 

The way we feel about ourselves 

influences our life style. If we look 

at ourselves as a survivor we get that 

strength to fight but at the same time 

if we look at ourselves as a failure, the 

ON CLOUD NO.9 

No phones! No 3G, so no WhasApp or smses! No 

mind can control almost anything was almost like 

internet connections, so no FB, Gmail, LinkedIn, 

Google! It is almost three days now since 

pressed by the teachings of Buddha, since I was a 

a prayer in the darkness. I had always been so im- 

I got my last phone call. There is no ‘chaos’ except 

for some ‘angry birds’ in the tall pine trees, which 

are unimpressed by the non-stop chirping and sway 

its branches ever so gently in the rhythmic breeze 

which blow once in a while, with small intervals of 

light drizzles, while the clouds play peek-a-boo with 

the sun. The air carries with it a sense of calm and 

the chime of the huge prayer wheel located a short 

distance away! And from where I stand at the door 

of our room overlooking the valley below, the clouds 

come to kiss me all over as if seducing me to stay a 

little longer and dance with it! Ah, what bliss! 

The serpentine and hair-pin bend road leading 

to Bomdila was perfect till we got to certain points, 

which needed a lot of expertise and patience not 

girl, I told him. The mind is the biggest creator and 

the Universe is a thought, Buddha had said and today 

several countries in the West are taking up Buddhism, 

its philosophy finding way into the chaos and indefiniteness 

of their lives. Buddha preached humbleness 

and humility and every day, we live by his teachings, 

he said. We talked of politics, of the degradation of 

the young generation and the responsibility of parents 

of making ‘good human beings’, of the environment; 

planting trees and conservation of the wild. 

Finally, Tenzin gave me a pamphlet and said, “I wish 

Buddha’s blessings for you.” 

On turning the pages to Panchsheel, the Five 

Precepts, Tenzin said that these tenets are the foundation 

of Buddhism: 

to get the car bottom bumped and grazed. But the 

BRO signage saying “Thankyou for your patience” 

and “Sorry for the inconvenience” somehow dissipated 

whatever animosity we would have harboured 

throughout the broken road. One particular aspect 

that impressed me was every car driving down gave 

way to us in the most courteous manner unlike what 

I have serially noticed in our roads, where it’s always 

• I undertake to refrain from destroying living 

creatures 

• I undertake to refrain from taking that which 

is not given 

• I undertake to refrain from sexual misconduct 

• I undertake to refrain from incorrect speech 

• I undertake to refrain from intoxicating 

like I-own-the-road-and-so-I-want-to-go-first- 

drinks and drugs which lead to heedlessness 

attitude! Very impressive! So, by the time we arrived 

at the gate welcoming us to Bomdila, we were well 

versed in the mannerisms of the people, at least, the 

etiquette of the road! 

My body had been crying for a much-needed 

detox and ‘defragmentation’ for a long time and it 

looked like I was in the right time and place for Vipasanna. 

So when, after a restful night of sleep, we 

were woken up a soft-spoken care-taker of the Doe- 

Gu-Khil guest-house to a morning of heavy shower 

and clouds gambolling into our room, I just wondered 

if there could have been a better moment. 

We had decided earlier on that this time during 

a holiday we would just sleep, eat, meditate, read 

and do them all over again every day of our stay. No 

shopping or site-seeing either. Just laze and do nothing. 

And that’s exactly what we did in our monastery 

guest house cocooned in a crevice at the bottom of 

the monastery at Bomdila at 8100ft above sea level. 

Yes. And that is why we had clouds hanging right near 

us as if we were on a flight and that was also another 

reason why I felt breathless and light in the head at 

times! 

Far from the world I knew; the world of chaos, 

stress and strain, of anger and jealousy, I felt I needed 

to find myself, to search for that one thing I have 

been looking for so long; peace! I had as a little girl 

thought peace meant being happy, even against the 

odds. I actually did find peace then because of the 

simple thoughts I was attached to. But as I grew, the 

constraints and complicacies of life made me wonder 

if I would ever be able to transform myself to the little 

girl I knew so well but couldn’t touch anymore. 

I was definitely breathless by the time I reached 

the Gontse Gaden Rabgyaling (GRL) monastery at 

the top of the hill after walking through the pinetree 

lined road leading from the guest-house but I 

knew this journey was surely going to shape a lot of 

thoughts inside me by the time I left Bomdila. 

After praying in front of the more than 20ft high 

gold-coloured Buddha statue inside the monastery, I 

turned the huge coloured prayer wheel outside the 

monastery and then the smaller prayer wheels lining 

one side of the road leading away from the shrine, 

while I chanted OM MANNI PADME HUNG. I was waiting 

for Tenzinjambey, a young monk. 

While I waited in the reception area, like they 

say, around 60,000 lazy, nondescript, ambiguous, 

disconnected thoughts crossed my mind. I played 

with my phone, being interrupted from my reverie 

time and again by quizzical, yet friendly monks, who 

wanted to know the business of my visit. I said, I 

wanted to know some answers from the teachings 

of Buddha. Ah, Buddha and their face lighted up in 

sheer contentment! 

As I sipped piping-hot yak milk-tea, the sereneness 

of Tenzinjambey talking of anger and how my 

whole perspective towards life also 

becomes negative. One thing we have 

to know about ourselves is that it is 

not the people who make us. We have 

to let go off the image they create for 

us. We have to know our true self and 

follow our dreams. 

When we take our first step towards 

our goal there will be a lot of 

obstacles and challenges that we will 

have to face. We need to understand 

that these obstacles and challenges 

are there to help us move forward. 

If we are able to cross these hurdles, 

we have won the battle. Successful 

people keep moving forward. They 

make mistakes but they never quit. 

As put very beautifully by J.D. Houston, 

“If you want something in your 

life you’ve never had, you’ll have to 

do something, you’ve never done.” 

As we sped down the same road from Bomdila 

back to the land of the 15th Century saint and philosopher 

Mahapurush Srimanta Shankardev, my Axom, 

I closed my eyes only to see the essence of Buddhism 

in the humility and the soft-spoken nature of the Mahapuruxiya 

bhakats (priests). My heart pounded in 

pride for being born in the land of this noble seer and 

breathed in deep contentment and peace! 

tinat ATIFA MASOOD 

There are three levels of silence: 

One is not saying anything. This is what 

we usually call silence. People understand 

silence as not talking, not gesturing, and not 

doing anything. 

There is another level of silence which 

is one step further. It is when our mind is 

not interested in the things around it, but is 

just focused inward. You are not interested 

in seeing, talking or listening to anything. 

What happens when you see? You’re taking something 

in. When you’re listening, you’re taking 

something in. When you’re tasting, and touching, 

you are talking something in. All our five senses 

are trained to take something in. This is all an 

activity. Silence is disinterestedness in activity. 

This does not mean that you shouldn’t eat food. 

Eat food, but do not feel like, this food is tasty, 

this food is not tasty. Eat food but your mind 

must not be involved. The mind not getting involved 

in any of the five senses brings a certain 

amount of quietness inside you and this is the 

second type of silence. It is an inward journey 

of the mind. 

Silence is disinterestedness in activity. 

The mind not getting involved in any of the five 

senses brings a certain amount of quietness inside 

you. It is an inward journey of the mind. 

The third degree of silence is, total oneness, 

total satisfaction. There is no need of 

anything, total contentment. It is when all your 

energies, the thoughts, the mind, which is scattered 

all over the place comes back to its source. 

In some deep meditation you might have had 

the glimpse of that total stillness of the mind. 

And this stillness can be there even when you 

are active. 

Now you might think, ‘Why bother about 

meditation when sleep is good enough?’ That 

is because when you are sleeping, even though 

your mind is not engaged in activity, there is 

another type of physical activity which is even 

more during sleep. When you’re sleeping your 

body is rejuvenating, it is growing, cells are 

multiplying; there is a lot of physical activity in 

the body. In fact, this sort of physical activity is 

much more in sleep than in the waking state. 

In meditation, the reverse happens, the physical 

activity is low in the body. In sleep, the metabolism 

is high, but in meditation the metabolism 

comes down. So, the body also calms down and 

the mind also calms down during meditation. 

Then what happens? The intelligence awakens. 

This is the result of meditation. That is why you 

become brighter and sharper (with the practice of 

meditation) because it rejuvenates the body and 

mind at the same time and so you feel energetic. 

To know ‘Who You Really Are’ you need 

a lot of energy. Energy is what is essential. 

To run an atomic reactor you need energy in order 

to create more energy, isn’t it? In the same way, 

to tap the source of energy, you need energy. 

In Sanskrit there is a saying from the Upanishad, 

‘Nayam Atma Balaheenena Labhya’. 

A weak person cannot attain the Self. 

Don’t think this means that you have to be 

strong physically, no! They are referring to weak 

in the energy sense. And how do you become 

weak? When you all the time engage in the five 

senses. 

To know ‘Who You Really Are’ you need 

a lot of energy. Energy is what is essential. In 

Sanskrit there is a saying from the Upanishad, 

‘Nayam Atma Balaheenena Labhya’. A weak 

person cannot attain the Self. And how do you 

become weak? When you all the time engage in 

the five senses. 

If you sleep a lot, don’t you feel 

tired and weak? If you eat a lot, don’t 

you feel tired? You do feel tired, isn’t it! 

If you sit and watch soccer the whole day, 

how do you feel at the end of the day? Totally 

drained! People watch movies day after 

His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji 

day. Everyday there is some TV serial, something 

thrilling, something exciting, and after 

watching and watching, you look so tired! 

People who go for movies, you should click a 

picture of them when they get into a theatre 

and again when they come out of the theatre. 

You will see how tired and worn out they get. 

If you go to conferences where people talk from 

morning to evening, and sometimes even at the 

dinner table, they get so worn out. Someone is 

giving a speech and hardly anyone is listening to 

them, only the one who gives the speech is satisfied 

that he gave a talk. That is all that happens. 

He waits for an opportunity to throw out whatever 

he has been thinking in his mind, but there 

are very few takers. People listen and they feel so 

exhausted and tired. This happens in many of the 

conferences. If they don’t leave that little space 

for a break, or music, if they don’t give people 

some time to sit and relax, they get worn out. 

When you see many professors or intellectuals, 

do you see them smiling and having a vibrant 

energy? Seldom you will find it. They are all 

so tired and worn out. Listening too much also 

wears you out. 

Usually people who give lectures, it takes 

10-15 minutes for them to warm up, and then 

they start delivering. They talk for not less 

than an hour and a half. I only talk for 10-15 

minutes, sometimes half an hour. That’s the 

maximum. No more. People cannot take it. 

So, listening too much drains you, seeing 

too much drains you, eating drains you. 

Just hang around with somebody, hold their 

hand, that also will definitely drain you. That’s 

the reason why people get together and they 

move apart because they have not taken that 

much needed space for them self, or given that 

space to others. We must respect our own space 

and another’s space. 

If you’re upset, angry, depressed, hateful, 

or jealous; any of these negative emotions, it 

simply means that you are lacking energy (prana), 

and you have moved away from the center. 

This is a very simple equation: If you’re upset 

then you lack prana, that’s it. When energy is 

there, then there is no question of getting depressed 

or upset. 

Once you’re centered (established in 

the self), once you’ve caught the essence, 

then it doesn’t matter. But even then there 

should be caution: not to do too much of anything. 

But till the time your system becomes 

strong enough to hold this enormous energy, 

these steps or these rules are very essential. 

Silence is bringing you back home, and it gives 

you that much needed energy to realize ‘Who You 

Are’, to realize that there is bliss, there is beauty, 

there is joy, and that is ‘You’. 

If you’re upset, angry, depressed, hateful, 

or jealous; any of these negative emotions, it 

simply means that you are lacking energy (prana), 

and you have moved away from the center. 

This is a very simple equation: If you’re upset 

then you lack prana, that’s it. When energy is 

there, then there is no question of getting depressed 

or upset. There is no question of saying, 

‘Oh, everything is bad. The world is hopeless’. 

When there is energy, it gives you enthusiasm, 

then you say, ‘If the world is hopeless it gives 

me an opportunity to do something about it. 

Improve the world’, because that energy uplifts 

your spirit and uplifts everybody’s spirit as well. 

It is like making a home of sand. You make a 

home of sand 10 times and it collapses, but then 

the next minute you’re ready to make it again. 

You remain unmindful of whatever has happened 

before, that indicates prana.

G PLUS JUL 26 - AUG 01, 2014 17 

Entertainment 

WORKED TO LOOK HOTTER 

THAN SUNNY LEONE 

Noyon Jyoti Parasara 

Everybody knows her body of work. Everyone agrees she 

is super hot. I am going to give her a challenge. I have 

tried looking hotter than her! 

To match up to Sunny Leone’s 

hotness is never going to be 

an easy task. But that’s exactly 

what Karishma Tanna is aiming for in 

her next film ‘Tina and Lolo.’ The two 

actresses will be seen playing leads 

in the action drama, the shooting of 

which has just been completed. And 

if Karishma is to be believed, the film 

is set to raise the temperature by quite 

some degrees. 

A sultry Karishma has apparently 

challenged herself to match Sunny 

Leone. “Everybody knows her body 

of work. Everyone agrees she is super 

hot. I am going to give her a challenge. 

I have tried looking hotter than her!” 

quipped the actress when asked about 

sharing screen with someone whose 

popularity is high. 

Karishma had hit fame as a part 

of arguably the most popular show 

on Indian TV show – ‘Kyunki Saas 

Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.’ However, she 

has no qualms accepting that it is not 

she but Sunny Leone who will get a 

major share of the media-pie during 

film’s promotion. “I understand she 

is a bigger name and have no problem 

accepting that fact that it is her star 

power that will get the film an opening 

on Friday. It’s a reality,” she says. “It is 

the same thing when you do a Salman 

Khan film. He is the biggest star and 

audiences come in for him regardless 

of the heroine. ‘Tina and Lolo’ is only 

going to benefit me,” she adds. 

Talking about benefits, the actress 

was last seen in the superhit ‘Grand 

Masti’ but that apparently did little to 

get her more roles. “While I am happy 

to have done ‘Grand Masti’, it did not 

really benefit any of the girls in landing 

roles. It probably worked better for 

the guys. If I am getting roles now, it is 

entirely on merit,” says the actress who 

has also completed Kabir Sadanand’s 

next ‘Golu Aur Pappu’ in which she is 

paired opposite Vir Das. “It is a hilarious 

film. Also, imagine Vir and I being 

paired up. He is half my size,” she says. 

She will be seen playing an undercover 

cop in the film with whom Vir 

keeps falling in love. 

And while she waits for Bollywood 

to take notice she is taking up 

some Telugu and Tamil films. “Maybe 

producers who wish to sign Deepika 

should sign me. Deepika has no dates 

and we really have identical bodies. 

Our body frames are exactly the same,” 

she says with a chuckle. TV is however 

not something she is looking at anymore. 

“I would like to host shows but 

I am not looking at doing a daily show 

again,” says the actress, who attained 

most of her fame due to soaps. 

Recalling the days of ‘Kyuki Saas 

Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’, Karishma is excited 

that her ex co-star Smriti Irani 

is now a part of the Union Ministry. 

“She (Smriti) is intelligent. Even then, 

she was very well read and aware. We 

knew she would go a long way,” she 

says. Does this mean she would get 

into politics. “Films it is!” she concludes. 

And yes, with a promise of 

burning the screen as she competes 

with Sunny Leone, her fans would 

only hope she sticks to it!

18 

Reviews 

5 Seconds of Summer 

If one could draw a Venn diagram 

with Southern California 

punk-pop giants Green Day on 

the left and British boy band sensations 

One Direction on the right, the 

circles would most likely intersect 

to create Australia’s 5 Seconds of 

Summer. A four-member ensemble 

of youthful, guitar-wielding, Christian 

College grads from Sydney, 5 

Seconds of Summer make an utterly 

populist brand of power pop that has 

way more to do with the member’s 

spikey-cute hairdos, skintight jeans, 

and twenty-something-year-old libidos 

than it does any kind of actual 

punk-inspired mischief. Which isn’t’ 

to say there aren’t plenty of songs 

to enjoy on the band’s eponymous 

2014 full-length debut. If 5 Seconds 

of Summer learned anything from 

touring with One Direction (as they 

did in 2013), it was probably how 

to style their hair. However, if they 

learned two things, then the second 

was clearly how to write a catchy 

chorus; a talent the band and their 

producers display throughout most 

of the album. Primarily, 5 Seconds of 

Summer deliver track after track of 

gargantuan pop/rock, packed with 

G PLUS JUN 26 - AUG 01, 2014 

You 

SHOULD 

LISTEN 

immediately hummable melodies 

that anyone over 30 will probably 

feel slightly guilty for remembering. 

Cuts like the lead-off, “She Looks So 

Perfect,” and the equally wide-eyed 

“Don’t Stop,” are pure sugar, guitarrock 

candy that will appeal to anyone 

who still has a sweet tooth for 

Sum 41. It also doesn’t hurt that the 

band seem to have, if not exactly a 

sense of humor, then a silly exuberance 

for their brand of teen rawk. 

In fact, cuts like the campy,’80s 

dance-rock of “English Love Affair,” 

and the driving, “Kiss Me, Kiss Me, 

Kiss Me,” bring to mind the similarly 

rambunctious ‘90s punk-pop 

of blink-182. Ultimately, 5 Seconds 

of Summer have crafted an album 

of songs that stick in your head like 

neon bubblegum on a hot summer 

sidewalk. 

Director: Sajid Nadiadwala 

Cast: Salman Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez, 

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Randeep Hooda 

Kick is the new synonym 

for adrenaline rush in 

India and soon this 

will take over the entire world 

too. Having released in 4000 plus 

screens in the country and 700 

plus screens overseas, Kick is a 

well knit tale about an adrenaline 

junkie, Salman Khan aka ‘Devil’ 

who does things differently just 

to get a ‘Kick’ out of it. The story 

of Kick is not applaud worthy as it 

is a remake of Telugu movie of the 

same name. 

The movie will start with Shaina 

(Jacqueline Fernandez), a psychiatrist 

meeting her perspective 

groom, Himanshu (Randeep Hooda) 

on a train journey in Warsaw. 

Neither of these characters are 

interested in an arranged union, 

but on getting to know each other, 

the two become very good friends. 

This is when Shaina decides to reveal 

secrets about her past, mainly 

her ex-boyfriend, Devil (Salman 

Khan). The movie goes into flashback 

here, and bang comes the 

entry of the hero. After she shares 

her story, Himanshu too shares his 

escapades as a police officer and 

boasts off on how he has finally 

met his match, an intelligent thief, 

again the Devil (Salman Khan). 

Both Shaina and Himanshu are 

unaware of the fact that they are 

talking about the same person. 

Salman is not playing the role of a 

Devil or of a superman, he is just 

an ordinary guy who does things 

differently to get a ‘Kick’ out of it. 

At this point the story is back 

on track, that is it now moves in 

present tense and how the Devil 

again enters their life, how it 

changes the whole scenario in the 

movie and why he turns into a 

devil form the crux of the movie. 

Salman Khan, the man is different, 

even though the movie is a 

remake, this being a Salman film, 

the makers have tried to make the 

entire film seem and sound different. 

But trust me it is not! Yeah, the 

concept of Devil is new, though 

the character does do bad things, 

in the end it’s for the good of 

someone else. There is a deep mystery 

and it is an uncompromising 

mission for which Devil is ready 

to lose his life. Why this devilishness 

gets imbibed in him cannot to 

be revealed, to know that you will 

have to watch the film. This being 

Sajid Nadiadwala’s debut direction, 

only adds to the curiosity level 

to watch the film. We have seen 

Salman do such roles in Dabangg 

as well, where by heart he is a good 

man, but he does do bad things to 

bad people. Devil is just a modern, 

revamped version of Robin Hood 

Pandey. If you remember Salman’s 

dialogue in Dabangg, you’ll know 

what I am talking about (Hum yahan 

ke Robin Hood hain, Robin 

Hood Pandey). Salman Khan has 

done a lot of south remakes in the 

past few years and strangely they 

have clicked for Salman’s version 

has always been bigger and better, 

his movies actually give us a 

kick! So this 2014 version of Kick 

will also be bigger and better than 

2009 version. He truly is a star 

whose power we cannot understand, 

“Main Dil mein aata hoon, 

samajh mein nahin”. 

You 

SHOULD 

read 

NOW SHOWING 

Apsara Cinema 

Anuradha Cineplex 

Fun Cinemas 

Gold Cinema 

(Fancy Bazar) 

Gold Cinema 

(Paltan Bazaar) 

Gold Cinema 

(Narengi) 

Beyond the Goal 

The Official Biography of Baichung Bhutia 

Author : Mohammad Amin Ul Islam 

Baichung Bhutiadubbed 

the Sikkimese 

Sniper 

for his amazing shot 

accuracy-has been 

winning young and 

old hearts alike with 

his rare skill and boyish 

charm since 1993. 

He serves as a benchmark 

not only for Indian 

football, but also 

for Asianfootball, as 

he has been one of the 

best players for over a 

decade. In fact, even 

today, he remains the 

only iconic face of Indian 

football to the 

outside world. Baichungs 

career has not 

been without controversy 

and Beyond the 

Goal delves into the 

footballers relationships with his coaches, the clubs he played with, 

and his much debated retirement. Md Amin takes us through the 

good, the bad, and the ugly of football in India by doggedly retracing 

Baichungs own highs and lows. 

KICK 

Daily at 11AM, 2, 5 & 8 PM 


Daily at 9 AM , 11.45 AM, 2.35, 5.30 & 8.30 PM 

Daily at 11, 11.30 AM 2, 2.30, 5, 5.30, 8.30 PM 

Daily at 11, 11.30 AM 2, 2.30, 5, 5.30, 8.30 PM 


Dark Souls II 

on PlayStation 3, Xbox 

360 

Dark Souls 2 is not just a perfectly 

designed video game. 

It’s a dark journey into a 

painful world of souls, a bet with 

your inner self and your strengths, 

the purification and absolute completion 

when the end credits fall... it’s an 

experience like no other. 

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 

GAME 

REVIEW

G PLUS JUL 26 - AUG 01, 2014 19 

Google Maps Now Available in Hindi 

for Android and Desktop Users 

Google recently announced the 

launch of Google Maps in 

Hindi. While the search engine 

giant has been working on improving 

Maps and localising it for populaces 

across the globe, it is only now that the 

company has come up with the Hindi 

version of Google Maps. 

The updated Google Maps with 

Hindi language support, available 

both in the Android app and Webinterface 

for desktop, can now show 

users Hindi names of cities, localities, 

important roads, as well as popular 

National e-library 

to be accessible to 

everyone 

- Smriti Irani 

Human Resource Development 

Minister Smriti Irani 

has stated that every citizen 

of the country will have access to the 

contents of the National Electronic 

Library (NEL). 

HRD Minister Smriti Irani said 

in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, 

“The government of India has taken 

a decision to provide access to NEL 

to its citizens including students and 

teachers in schools, colleges and 

universities. Most resources in NEL 

would be available in open access to 

every citizen of India without any 

restrictions,” 

NEL is a digitised library that 

will be device independent according 

to the minister. “It can be accessed 

using a variety of devices, 

including desktops, laptops, tablets, 

smartphones and other devices,” 

added Irani. 

points of interest such as public parks 

and schools, all alongside their English 

names. 

Speaking about the same, Suren 

Ruhela, Director Product and Program 

Management, Google, says, “We 

wanted to remove the geographical 

boundaries that come in the way of Internet 

users across the globe. That was 

one of the main reason as to why have 

been working on expanding maps. 

The Hindi version of Google maps will 

help remove the language barrier for a 

huge section of people in India.” 

Government looks into unauthorized 

digital certificates issues 

The Indian government stated in 

a release that it is looking into 

the unauthorized digital certificates 

issued by NIC. Technology giants 

Google and Microsoft had raised the 

issue of fake signatures last week on 

their security blog. 

The Controller of Certifying 

Authorities monitors Certifying Authorities, 

who issue digital certificates 

for electronic authentication of users. 

Digital certificate is like an electronic 

passport that allows a person, computer 

or organization to securely exchange 

information over the Internet. 

Digital certificates provides identifying 

information like the certificate 

holders name, a copy of his public keys, 

Facebook launches 

Save button to 

bookmark content 

Facebook has added a “Save” button 

to the news feed that lets users 

bookmark posts, photos, and 

other content for viewing later. The 

“Save” feature will be rolled out during 

the next few days for web users, as well 

as iOS and Android platforms. 

The ‘Save’ button in the news feed 

creates a section of bookmarked sites 

on your profile that will help users to 

find specific content when they have 

more time. Facebook users can keep 

the saved items private or even share 

them with friends on social networking 

sites. The feature will entice users 

to spend even more time on the site 

a serial number and is forgery resistant. 

The unauthorized certificate could be 

used for eavesdropping on Google services 

like Gmail or Google Docs. Currently 

only Windows users have been 

affected by this issue as the India CCA 

certificates are included for the Microsoft 

Root Store. 

In a blog post last week, Google 

said, “On Wednesday, July 2, we became 

aware of unauthorized digital 

certificates for several Google domains. 

The certificates were issued 

by NIC of India, which holds several 

intermediate CA certificates trusted 

by the Indian Controller of Certifying 

Authorities (India CCA).” 

Tech giant Microsoft added that 

it is aware of improperly issued SSL 

certificates that could be used for performing 

phishing attacks. 

The deepest 

cuts ever in 

tech giant’s 

history, 

1800 job 

slashes in 

Microsoft 

Microsoft is embarking 

on the deepest cuts to 

its workforce in its 39 

year history, axing 18,000 jobs 

over the next year, as it absorbs 

its newly acquired Nokia phone 

business and takes out layers of 

management. 

The new boss of the US Company 

is cutting one in seven of the 

tech giant’s 127,000 global workforce 

as it attempts to integrate 

the Finnish business it acquired 

in April for $7.2bn. 

Satya Nadella, the firm’s chief executive 

for just five months, first 

hinted at job cuts last week when 

he outlined plans for a leaner 

business. That led to speculation 

about sweeping job cuts, but expectations 

underestimated the 

18,000 job losses announced 

yesterday, which propelled the 

tech giant’s shares to their highest 

level since the dotcom boom 

in 2000, gaining 1.5% to $44.84. 

The cuts will mostly come from 

Nokia, which added 25% more 

staff to the Microsoft work force. 

Until now, the largest round of 

redundancies in Microsoft history 

was in 2009, when it cut 5,800 

employees. 

Buffer 

Web Watch 

5 Useful Google 

Chrome Apps 

Submitted by Indrajeet Bhuyan 

With Buffer, you can share 

links and photos on multiple social 

media websites in one go. You 

can post stuff to Twitter, LinkedIn, 

Facebook, App.net and Google 

Plus pages.Buffer not only makes it 

easy for you to post content, it also 

help you track the performance of 

your shared links. 

Mighty Text 

MightyText lets you send and 

received SMS text messages directly 

from Gmail or Facebook 

on your computer. All you need to 

do is install the Mighty Text app 

on your Android phone. Mighty 

Text offers a chat style widget inside 

Gmail and here you can read 

through your existing text messages 

or write new 

Clipular 

Clipular is a wonderful screen 

clipper for the web – you press Alt 

twice and capture anything on the 

current web page. Once a screenshot 

is captured, the image is automatically 

uploaded to your private 

Clipular dashboard along with the 

title and source link of the current 

page. 

Disconnect Me 

Online advertisers and Internet 

companies are tracking your 

activity on the Internet, not for the 

purpose of snooping but for serving 

you more personalized search 

results and more targeted advertising.Disconnect 

Me is a simple 

Chrome add-on that will automatically 

block advertising companies, 

analytics services and search 

engines from tracking you online. 

There’s no configuration required 

and as soon as you install the addon, 

the tracking is suspended. 

Web Timer 

Web Timer is a Chrome extension 

that will help you keep track 

of how you’re using your time online. 

It tracks what websites you 

are visiting and how many minutes 

you spend looking at each of 

them. There’s some intelligence 

built in for more accurate data. 

The background timer is only activated 

when Google Chrome is in 

focus and your computer isn’t left 

in an idle state for more than 30 

seconds. 

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

20 

G-Talk 

G PLUS JUN 26 - AUG 01, 2014 

Should the spaces under fly overs be 

opened for parking? 

Kasturi Khataniar 

Dentist 

Anjan Jyoti Gogoi 

Employee, Gauhati High Court 

POINT 


(GMC) has decided 

to use spaces under the city’s 

flyovers to set up public toilets, shops 

and parking lots and they are having 

meetings with all city authorities to 

make the arrangements possible. Guwahati 

has a major problem in controlling 

the traffic and with the flyovers 

being made a no parking zone, 

the roads adjacent to the flyovers are 

mostly seen to be blocked by the vehicles 

because of unabated parking on 

the roads. Previously, vehicles were 

allowed to be parked under the flyovers, 

but after the 30th October 2008 

serial blasts in Guwahati, and especially 

with the blast at the Ganeshguri 

flyover, authorities have restricted 

parking of vehicles under the flyovers. 

It is true that security is a concern 

but terror has travelled on wheels long 

and far enough for the spotlight to fall 

on spaces that allow the deadly vehicles 

to lie in wait undetected. It is not 

only flyovers but all the city lanes are 

somehow on target by the miscreants. 

But it doesn’t mean that people will 

stop parking their vehicles there. If 

the authorities are planning to restart 

parking under the flyovers again, I 

think that it is a good move to reduce 

the chaotic traffic of the city. There is 

always a long wait at the traffic points 

under all the flyovers in the city, because 

as the flyovers are a no parking 

zone, the adjacent roads are used as 

places to park the vehicles. 

Security measures can be dealt 

with by installing CCTV cameras 

under the flyovers. The places now 

are used by people to loiter around 

and even by the homeless which will 

gradually give birth to various slums 

under the flyovers. 

The authorities may be planning 

multi-level parking lots across the 

city, but there are not enough parking 

places in the planned parking lots 

to accommodate all the city vehicles. 

Disorderly parking spaces only help 

troublemakers to take advantage of 

the chaos and plant explosives without 

being seen. So, in spite of making 

all the places narrower by unplanned 

parking, the parking lots and places 

under the flyovers can be utilised for 

parking which will ease the chaos and 

also keep a check on the miscreants 

with proper security measures. 

I feel government can also generate 

a lot of revenue by using the places 

under the flyovers as parking lots. 

The parking can be charged, which 

will also help keep a check on the vehicle 

owners and also bar people from 

parking their vehicles for a long period 

without any work. 

I 

do not think that it is a good 

idea to convert the spaces under 

the over bridges of the city into 

parking spaces. Earlier, free spaces 

under the Ganeshguri, Ulubari and 

other flyovers of the city were open 

for parking of vehicles. But later on, 

it was stopped citing security reasons 

and it is still the same till this day. 

There is no CCTV or any other 

such surveillance system put in place 

in Guwahati and various untoward 

incidents have been happening right 

under the noses of the authority. But, 

at the same time, it is technically not 

possible for the police administration 

to check each and every vehicle 

plying on the road or parked in the 

parking lots. 

Even if CCTV cameras are to be 

installed in the parking lots, it is not 

be possible to check the hidden explosives 

or any other such item stacked 

inside a vehicle. If someone intends 

to harm any structural damage to the 

over bridges, then he can effortlessly 

do it if once he gets easy access near 

to the flyovers. Better not talk about 

loss of lives in such incidents. 

Moreover, there is no such provision 

of parking under the over bridges 

in other parts of the country. If it is 

a feasible option to open up the spaces 

under the over bridges, so that traf- 

COUNTERPOINT 

fic congestion can be reduced, then 

other states would have adopted it. 

Apart from the security concerns, 

there is another reason for not 

extending my support to the idea of 

opening parking lots under the flyovers. 

That being, the lanes along 

the sides of the flyovers are not large 

enough. The existing lanes are very 

narrow and cannot even bear the 

present rush on the roads of the city. 

If the spaces under flyovers will be 

given out for parking purposes, it will 

worsen the traffic scenario even more 

in the city. 

Under these circumstances, I 

think multiple storey car parking facilities 

are much better options than 

using the spaces under flyovers for 

parking. Besides, elevator parking is 

another excellent option for parking 

which can be constructed in small 

spaces and are mostly being used in 

countries like Japan. This automated 

mechanical parking system can accommodate 

many vehicles under one 

roof, but, so far I have not witnessed 

such facilities anywhere in the county. 

I think that the authority should 

look for new and high end facilities 

for mitigating the traffic chaos of the 

city, instead of opening up parking 

lots under over bridges. 

Useless city foot-bridges 

LETTERs TO THE EDITOR 

Sir, 

While I go through your issues I have noticed readers writing articles about different issues prevailing in the city these days. I would like to bring forward a certain 

issue that has come to my notice. Many foot-bridges have been built in the city for the convenience of the pedestrians but I have hardly seen people utilising those footbridges. 

Most of the people I have seen take the pain of waiting for ten to fifteen minutes to cross the road instead of using the foot-bridges. Well it is understandable 

that in certain cases it must be tiring to climb up the stairs and then again climb down the stairs, but in order to maintain a smooth flow of traffic, the city residents 

need to take up the trouble and accept their social responsibility towards the city. The foot-bridges are now-a-days mostly used by teenage tuition- goers as a place 

to hang out. I would like to ask the authorities and the citizens of the city that was it worth it to invest such huge amount of money in constructing such foot-bridges 

which are not properly utilized? 

Abdul Ahmed Hussain 

Lachit Nagar 

Sluggish government office work process 

Dear Editor, 

I have been following your paper since long and I would like to get straight to the issue and express my view. Governmental processes in our country have become 

monumental tasks. Recently, I encountered the utter disorganization, disrespect and deficiency at the local registration office. I was appalled at the way citizens were 

treated. The employees themselves were uninterested in their own careers and could care less about the people they were working with. During my superfluous four 

hour wait, I observed that legal documents were being drafted by asinine, poorly educated people. It is imperative that these documents be drafted using accurate 

language, since these papers hold the utmost power. Not only did I notice the utter lack of propriety, I also noted that the heavier the envelope, the faster those particular 

clients were served. The blatancy of these bribes truly concerned and angered me. Ordinary citizens should not be subjected to such unfair, unstated rules. All 

in all, these institutions are run in a very unsatisfactory way. Places like these create blemishes in the greatness of our country. The only way we can grow as a nation 

is to rehabilitate the whole system. 

Nishant Bhardwaj 

Fancy Bazaar 

Send us your letters and feedback at editor@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUL 26 - AUG 01, 2014 21 

BMX 

Flatland 

Workshop 

Date: 14 th , 15 th , 16 th July, 

Venue: South Point School 

Events 

X-FACTOR 

Date: 20 th July | Venue: Crest 

The event was held at Crest, Guwahati. The idea behind the 

event was to encourage women safety through self-defence 

demostration which was conducted by Bidang MMA. Other 

highlights included B Boying and rapper J97.

22 

Fun 

Your weekly dose of TIMEPASS 

HOROSCOPE 

ARIES 

You may blow situations out of proportion 

when dealing with the one you love. 

You are ready to blow up and your stress 

level has gone into over drive. Don’t make 

a move; your confusion has caused this 

dilemma and you are best to back away 

and reassess the situation. Be aware that 

you might be at fault as well. 

Your lucky day this week will be Thursday. 

TAURUS 

Changes in your residence will be 

favorable in the long haul. Don’t let others 

know about your private affairs. 

Delve a little deeper if you really want 

to know the score. Don’t overspend on 

friends or children. 

Your lucky day this week will be 

Thursday. 

GEMINI 

You may be fortunate while traveling. 

You will enjoy physical activities 

more than you think. Be cautious while 

traveling to foreign countries. You can 

meet friends who will let you know how 

valuable you are. 


Wednesday. 

CANCER 

Get into fitness programs to keep in 

shape. Your ambitious mood may not go 

over well with loved ones. Try to channel 

your energy into professional endeavors. 

Travel will initiate new friendships or love 

connections. Ask those in key positions to 

help you overcome the delays and to support 

your concerns in order to move on. 

Your lucky day this week will be Saturday. 

LEO 

You will have original ideas for ways to 

make extra money. Real estate investments 

could be to your ad vantage. Get involved 

in a competitive sport that will bring the 

challenges you thrive on. Try to ease any 

disappointment by making amends. 


VIRGO 

Those you work with may have little 

consideration for the underdog. You will be 

in the mood for entertainment. Do something 

together and you’ll be surprised how 

sweet a deal you can make. Take care of 

any medical problems if they’ve been troubling 

you. 


Wednesday. 

LIBRA 

You will not be able to contain your 

emotions this week. Do not expect others 

to do your work. You must deal with an 

emotional problem with your loved one 

that you have been avoiding for some time 

now. Romantic opportunities are evident if 

you get involved in large groups or organizations. 

Your lucky day this week will be Saturday. 

SCORPIO 

Don’t be too hard on your mate. Your 

health may suffer if you don’t control your 

present situation. Throw yourself into your 

profession. Don’t let your personal dilemmas 

interfere with your goals. 

Your lucky day this week will be Monday. 

SAGITTARIUS 

Don’t let opposition from those envious 

of your talents daunt your progress. Back 

off if you want to keep the relationship intact. 

Don’t overlook that fact that someone 

you care about may be hiding something. 

Encourage the youngsters in your family. 

Your lucky day this week will be Friday. 

CAPRICORN 

Don’t let opposition from those envious of 

your talents daunt your progress. Back off if 

you want to keep the relationship intact. Don’t 

overlook that fact that someone you care 

about may be hiding something. Encourage 

the youngsters in your family. 

Your lucky day this week will be Friday. 

AQUARIUS 

You can’t always have your own way. Use 

your high energy and dynamic approach to 

win favors from superiors. Relatives may not 

be telling you the whole truth about a family 

situation. Opportunities for romance may develop 

through dealing with groups that have 

a purpose. 

Your lucky day this week will be Sunday. 

PISCES 

Take time to find out all you can. Travel 

opportunities should be your first choice. You 

are best to put your efforts into redecorating 

or inviting friends over. You can learn a great 

deal if you listen to those who are older or 

more experienced. 


Solutions (Last Issue) 

SUDOKU 

G PLUS JUN 26 - AUG 01, 2014 

Two factory workers are talking. 

The woman says, “I can make the boss give me the day off.” 

The man replies, “And how would you do that?” 

The woman says, “Just wait and see.” She then hangs upside-down 

from the ceiling. 

The boss comes in and says, “What are you doing?” 

JUST FOR LAUGHs 

The woman replies, “I’m a light bulb.” 

The boss then says, “You’ve been working so much that you’ve 

gone crazy. I think you need to take the day off.” 

The man starts to follow her and the boss says, “Where are you 

going?” 

The man says, “I’m going home, too. I can’t work in the dark.”

G PLUS JUL 26 - AUG 01, 2014 23 

Internet Service Providers 

BSNL 

G Plus will keep on publishing such relevant and useful 

information in this page in the coming issues. 

BSNL- C/O G M Telecom 

Ulubari, Ghy– 7 Ph- 913612528078, 

16004241600 

BSNL Panbazar 

Telephone Exchange Complex, 

Panbazar, Ghy- 1 Ph- 913612631600, 

16004241600 

BSNL- Telemart Dispur 

Dispur Telephone Exchange Building 

Wireles, Ghy – 5 Ph- 03612221194, 

16004241600 

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd 

Noonmati, Ghy – 20 Ph- 03612550068 

BSNL Ganeshguri 

Ganeshguri, Ghy – 6 Ph- 03612260462, 

16004241600 

BSNL Kahilipara 

Kahilipara, Ghy– 19 Ph- 03612380000, 

16004241600 

BSNL Maligaon 

Maligaon, Ghy– 11 Ph- 03612570801, 

16004241600 

BSNL Ambari 

Ambari, Ghy– 1 Ph- 03612603012, 

16004241600 

Catla I T & Engg Co Pvt Ltd 

House No 35, Kapur Singh Bhawan, 

Near N R L Petrol Pump, Jaya Nagar, 

6 Mile, Khanapara, Ghy– 22 Phtel:+919854051525 

Trans Virtual PVT LTD 

Golden Woods, 1 St Floor, Sundarpur, R G 

Baruah Road, Ghy – 5 Ph- 03612209970 

AIRTEL 

Wireless Internet Service Providers 

Compiled by Mautapa Dhar 

Airtel Gallery 

Slipukhuri, Opp Maharishi Vidya 

Mandir, Guwahati Gpo, Ghy -1 


Christian Basti, Next To Car Ghar, Gs 

Road, Guwahati, Ghy - 1 


Gate No.3 Maligaon, Guwahati, Ghy- 1 

Axom Net Broadband 

Head Office, Zoo Road - Rajgarh Tiniali 

Link Road, #12, Apurba Path, Ghy- 3, 

Ph- 9954196606, 8011000510 

Computer Arcade Guwahati 

Jahan Latif Manzil,1st Flr, H B 

Rd,Fancy Bazar, Guwahati GPO, Ghy– 

1 Ph- 9435043653, 03612549131 

Suvidha Communication 

Anjana Complex, Opp Reliance 

Call Center, Six Mile, Panjabari 

Road, Khanapara, Ghy– 22 Ph- 

03612724462 

Blue Net Marketing 

Kamakhya Gate, Nursery, 

Bhoralumukh, Guwahati - 781005 Phtel:+913612572924 

Tulip IT Services Pvt Ltd 

Opp Directorate Of Sainik Welfare, 

Rajgarh Road, Ghy– 7 Ph- 

03612468877 

Premier Validation 

Guwahati Biotech Park Technology 

Complex IIT Guwahati, Ghy –1 

Ph- 9823283428 

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) 

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 

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 

OTHERS 

Fire Emergency 101 

State Zoo 2201363 

GMC Carcass Pickup 9435190720, 

9864047222 

LPG Emergency/Leakage 2385209, 

2541118 

Citypedia 

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 

Trans Virtual PVT LTD 

Ie Building, 1st Floor, Panbazar, Ghy – 1 

Ph- 03612608805 

Sify Enterprise Solutions 

Guwahati, Ghy– 1 Ph- 03612637460, 

19014253330 

Railtel Corporation Of India 

LTD 

1st Floor, House No.41, Dighali Pukhuri 

Par, Md. Tayebulla Road, Ghy– 1 Ph- 

03612732487, 2609446 

Infotech International 

Ramprasad Complex, A T Road, Ghy– 1 

Ph- 9864097833, 03612604749 

Citylink 

Near Adabari Tiniali, Pandu Port Road, 

Pandu, Ghy –12 Ph- 9864792091, 

03612679498 

Vinasol Enterprise 

Opp Hanuman Mandir, Gs Road, Lachit 

Nagar, Ghy – 7 Ph- 03612459660 

Cyber Info 

Gauhati Club, Opp Bus Stop, Guwahati 

Gpo, Ghy – 1 Ph- 03612633034 

Cyber Planet 

76, M S Road, Athgaon, Guwahati Gpo, 

Ghy– 1 Ph- 03612600618 

Softcrop 

Near R Sycd Market, G S Road, 

Banghagarh, Ghy- 5 Ph- 9864271237 

Shyam Infotech 

N C Bharali Market, Near Vijaya Bank, 

At Road, Maligaon Chariali, Ghy – 11 

Ph- 8474859703 

Netlinks 

Rajat Bhawan,1st Floor, Housefed, 

Beltola Road, Dispur, Ghy– 6 Ph- 

9706146532, 03612220132 

P Communication 

Infront Of Cda Office, Satgaon, Ghy– 71 

Ph- 03612649094 

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, 

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Borjhar PS: Ph-2840351 

Chandmari PS: Ph- 2660204 

Chandrapur PS: Ph-2788237, 

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Dispur PS: Ph-2261510 

Fancybazar PS: Ph- 2540285 

police station 

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 

Catching Up 

G PLUS JUN 26 - AUG 01, 2014 

Scarlett Johansson 

Who’s she 

Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, model, and singer. She 

made her film debut in North (1994). In 1996, she was nominated for the 

Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in 

Manny & Lo, garnering further acclaim and prominence with roles in The 

Horse Whisperer (1998) and Ghost World (2001). 

So what 

Johansson is considered one of Hollywood’s modern sex symbols, 

and has frequently appeared in published lists of the sexiest women in the 

world, most notably when she was named the “Sexiest Woman Alive” by 

Esquire magazine in both 2006 and 2013 (the only woman to be chosen for 

the title twice), and the “Sexiest Celebrity” by Playboy magazine in 2007. 

Now what 

Scarlett Johansson and her fiancé Romain Dauriac reportedly will 

tie the knot in a few weeks. Johansson, 29, and Dauriac got engaged last 

September. The couple is now expecting their first child together. 

India bags 7 gold medals on Day 

1 of Commonwealth 

Sukhen Dey and K Sanjita Chanu 

stole the limelight by clinching 

a gold each in weightlifting, 

as India launched their campaign 

in the 20th Commonwealth Games 

with a flourish, winning seven medals 

in all on the opening day of the 

competitions at Glasgow. Judokas 

Navjot Chana and Shushila Likmabam 

had to be content with a silver 

medal each after they failed to clear 

Priyanka Chopra 

Who’s she 

Priyanka is an Indian film actress 

and singer, and the winner of the Miss 

World pageant, 2000. Chopra has become 

one of Bollywood’s highest-paid 

actors and one of the most popular 

celebrities in India. 

So what 

Priyanka Chopra’s Don 2 was a 

major success, earning over `2.06 billion 

(US$34 million) worldwide. Don 

2 was showcased at the 62nd Berlin 

International Film Festival and at the 

2012 International Film Festival of 

Marrakech, in Morocco. 

the final hurdle in the men’s 60kg 

and women’s 48kg events, respectively. 

There was a bronze for for 

another judoka, Kalpana Thoudam. 

In weightlifting, there was a silver 

medal for S Mirabai Chanu, while 

Ganaesh Mali bagged a bronze. 

The paddlers, shuttlers and squash 

players had easy outings on the first 

day, with both badminton and table 

teams posting convincing wins. 

Now what 

The actress will be seen going bald 

in one specific sequence of her upcoming 

film Mary Kom. Priyanka 

admitted, “I am a rebel without a 

cause, a rebel all the time. I relate to 

this story because even I have come 

from a small place. And then it is 

all about breaking boundaries. Successful 

people are those who break 

it all.” 

Gaza crisis: Palestinian death toll 

passes 700 

More than 700 Palestinians 

have been killed 

since the beginning 

of Operation Protective Edge 

17 days ago. According to Palestinian 

medics 736 Palestinians 

have now died - more than 165 

of these children. Israel has lost 

32 soldiers and three civilians. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 

Netanyahu has condemned 

a decision by the United Nations 

Human Rights Council to 

launch an inquiry into whether 

war crimes had been committed 

during Israel’s latest military 

offensive. He vowed to continue 

to destroy tunnels created by 

Hamas. 

An electric poll bang in the middle of a road 

in the Rupnagar area of the city 

Pic 

of 

the 

week 

The sky is safe 

no more 

An Indian Air Force (IAF) 

helicopter crashed on 

Friday in Uttar Pradesh’s 

Sitapur district, killing all seven 

people on board, police said. The 

ALH Dhruv chopper had taken 

off from Bareilly.Earlier on Thursday, 

President François Hollande 

of France confirmed Friday that 

there were no survivors from 

Flight AH5017 that crashed carrying 

116 people from Burkina 

Faso to Algiers. Whatever is the 

fate of the flight, the loss of contact 

is likely to add the jitters in the 

airline industry after a Malaysia 

Airlines plane was downed over 

Ukraine last week, a TransAsia 

Airways crashed off Taiwan during 

a thunderstorm on Wednesday 

and airlines cancelled flights 

into Tel Aviv due to the conflict in 

Gaza. 

WHAT DID I 

JUST HEAR 

A 

day after a Goa minister ignited a 

controversy by his remark that India 

will develop as a Hindu nation 

under Narendra Modi, the state’s Deputy 

Chief Minister Francis D’Souza stoked it 

further, saying India 

is already a Hindu nation 

and will always 

remain so. “India is a 

Hindu nation. There 

is no doubt about it. 

It was a Hindu nation 

and always stay 

a 

Hindu nation,” D’Souza, a senior BJP 

leader said reacting to the controversy 

triggered by his cabinet colleague Dipak 

Dhavalikar. 

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 43

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