Gplus first issue web version

CatChing up, pg 24

The BlackBerry duel

dId y uV Te?

With the objec-tive of

fulfilling an im-portant criterion of democracy, once again the city of Guwahati

has decided to give a chance to its citizens. A chance to ex-ercise their highest form of civil right – choosing their own public representatives. Guwa-hatians exercised this right in the GMC elections, held on the 19th of June. The fates of 31 Ward Councilors and 90 Area Sabha members under the Gu-wahati Municipal Corporation were decided in these polls.The gMC elections just got over! With a paltry

turn out of just 56%, what do the citizens expect from the new powers to be?

IN THE GMC ELECTIONS

`1024 Pages

Dating a colleague?

THINK2WICE!

Life, pg 10

head 2 head pg 19

Erin Brady,Miss USA2013

AMBUBACHI

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Space 09 career 11 Gtalk 14 Bazaar 15 FaShion 17 citypedia 23

INAUGURAL ISSUE | JUN 21 - JUN 28, 2013

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Along with that, the fate of around 20 lakh residents of Guwahati (the official figure stands at 9,63,429 as per the 2011 census) will be sealed for the next five years. But, at this point, when the city is getting ready to have a Mayor and a few odd numbers of representa-tives, questions have cropped up in the minds of the citizens. The most pertinent amongst them being – have the people chosen repre-sentatives, who can address their issues? Will the election in any way play a significant role in the lives of the city people?

Looking backThe Guwahati Municipal Corporation

(GMC) was formed in the year 1971 by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation Act, 1969 and as per the provision of section 45 of this act, the corporation was duly constituted in 1974 in the first meeting of the elected coun-cilors. But, since 2008, the corporation has been functioning without any elected repre-sentatives. The last election of the GMC was held in 2003 and the elected body was dis-solved in 2008.

Since then, due to various issues, the govern-ment has not been able to hold the GMC elec-

tions. After the last elected body was dissolved in 2008, the government wanted to introduce a new act, The Assam Nagara Raj act 2007, for holding the elections. This act demanded the delimitation of wards and creation of Area Sabhas, which are the urban counterparts of Gram Sabhas, to ensure the participation of the people. A lot of debates and discussions were held to determine whether a new form of urban local body should be put in place or not.

Opposing this move of the government, Khanin Das, a local resident of the city, had filed a PIL in the Gauhati High Court, while former AGP councilor, Prabhat Das too filed a case in the High Court demanding that the GMC election be conducted at the earliest. Some of the political parties and a few other organisations too, had opposed the govern-

ment’s move to delimit the municipal wards of Guwahati. But finally, the High Court, on Oc-tober 19, 2012, passed a hearing and directed the State Government to hold the GMC elec-tions within six months, in consultation with the state election commission. After this HC directive, the State Government fixed June 19 as the date for the polls. On May 19th, the state election commission announced the GMC elections in accordance to the provisions of the GMC Act and GMC Election Rules 1973.

The Assam Nagara Raj Act, 2007, as amended by the Assam Nagara Raj Act, 2009, introduces a three-tier hierarchy in the mu-nicipality by constituting Area Sabhas, Ward Committees and Councilors. This replaces the single-tier system consisting only of coun-cilors. The present number of the GMC wards has been reduced to 31 from the previous 60

and there will two to three Area Sabhas in each ward, which will comprise of a total of 90. Out of the 31 wards, 10 of these are reserved for women.

REaLiTY cHEckAfter much hullabaloo around the GMC

election, the polls finally took place and an es-timated 56% of 9 lakh voters turned out. It is speculated that a majority of the citizens were not too concerned about it. Although the ur-ban class of the city showed eagerness towards the polls, they were still not too sure about how useful the elections would be.

Before the elections happened, Gplus went around asking for opinions and a resident of Khanapara, Probal Bordoloi, said, “As a re-sponsible citizen, I want to cast my vote, but so far, I have not received any kind of intima-

tion from the contesting candidates. Without knowing details, how can I cast my vote in fa-vour of any one of them?”

UP FoR iTBefore the elections, as we talked to some

of the contestants for the post of Ward Coun-cilors and Area Sabha members, it was ironi-cal that some of them who did, were not aware about the new structure of the GMC. But, of course, when asked them about their visions and plans, post elections, almost all of them replied with the same proverbial answer of in-tended ‘development’ in their wards.

“I will do my best for the overall develop-ment of my area,” ward councilor candidate for ward no 2, Sikha Dey said. But, when asked about her party’s political agenda, from which she has been projected as a candidate in the GMC election, she replied that she was not too sure about it!

The District Administration, which con-ducted the election process along with the State Election Commission, had organised occasional meetings with the political parties to educate them about the new system of the GMC. However, till the time of writing this story, they had not organised any public meet-ings in this regard, which left most of the peo-ple in dark about the new system of the GMC.

“We did organise a few meetings in some places with the representatives of various po-

litical parties to sensitise them about the new functioning of GMC. But, we have not organ-ized any meetings with the public regarding this,” Sources at the DC’s office told GPlus.

“The fancy Bazar area, which is home to people belonging to diverse communities, is also the commercial hub of not only guwahati but also the entire state”

abdul Hamid,Resident of Fancy bazar,

Ward no 9

56%turnout for the elections

“This time onwards we will be monitoring the usage of funds allocated to the wards”

Siba Dowerah, senior citizen, anil nagar

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Lead Story

Photo: Abdul GAni

dId yOu VOTe?

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WHaT DoES gUWaHaTi EXPEcT?At this juncture, the vital question

that crops up is, “How important were the GMC elections for the peo-ple of Guwahati?”

In order to feel the pulse of the people of the city, a few days before the elections actually took place,

GPlus randomly spoke with some sections of the people, belonging to different wards, age groups and professions. During these conversa-tions, some very interesting opin-ions came to light.

Firstly, most of the people of the city simply seemed indifferent to the elections. They were of the view that just like the last elections did not bring about any major change in the situation, this time too, there will be no change coming in. There

“as a woman, i do not feel safe in my own area. Many inci-dents of looting and thefts have been happening in our area recently. a few days back, some miscreants, in broad daylight, snatched a gold chain from a woman right in front of our house”

“This time, we will be diligently choosing our representatives and if they fail to resolve the problems of the area, we will not be scared to insult them publicly...”

khanindra Ranjan barman,advisor, anil nagar develop-ment committee (Ward no 20)

“Like a lot other places of guwahati, the condition of the roads, water supply and lighting is not good in Maligaon. to make it worse, the laying of underground water pipes for the ongoing water supply project undertaken by gamon india, has deteriorated the condition of the roads”

Devajani Patikar,Journalist, Maligaon(Ward no 2) Salma ahmed,

Resident of bhetapara,

(Ward no 29)

canDiDaTE SPEak

WHaT gUWaHaTi WanTS

We want cooperation from the public.

We will try to bring about maximum level of develop-ment to our own respective areas.

We will not promise anything to the people, but will try our best to build a better society.

• Better civic amenitieswhich translates into efficient utilisation of peoples’ money. Being an unplanned city, there will be obvious hiccups in terms of develop-ment, but that should not mean almost next to nothing in terms of pro-gressive changes.

• Garbagedisposalshouldbe more systematic and efficient. We do not want stinky, overflowing dust-bins and garbage not be-ing moved for days at a stretch.

• Transparency in thefunctioning of ward of-fices and the councillors. More interaction with public. Collaborative and mutual solutions to public problems.

• Councillors should bethe conduit between the public and the govern-ment. Being a represent-ative elected by the pub-lic, his priority should be the citizens.

is hardly any real thought spared for the general public. Therefore, they are not too sure what difference, if any at all, would these elections bring about.

Jahnavi Barua, a resident of Ul-ubari, who we had spoken to before the elections has this to say - “I am not going to vote in the GMC elec-tion, because I have not seen any eligible candidate who can lead and mobilise the people to achieve the utmost development of our area. I did cast my vote in the last Assem-bly elections, but now I am disap-pointed to see the present political scenario of the state. I do not think that this will change in the future too. According to me, all the politi-cians only use their power for their own well being.” Is this the general mood of the people of the city? Sec-ondly, some concerned Guwaha-tians mentioned that they would be carrying out a background check of the candidates on their own, before exercising their rights of being re-sponsible citizens.

“I will definitely cast my vote. Per-sonally, I will go through the profiles and backgrounds of the contesting candidates before casting my vote,” a resident of Bamunimaidan, Na-bruz Sadat Islam told GPlus before polling day.

Thirdly, the housewives and other working women of the city are igno-

rant of the fact that the positions of the ward councilors in ten different municipal wards are reserved exclu-sively for women. Some of them had heard about the elections through television, but they were not too sure about casting their votes.

“I have come to know about GMC election through television. But, I haven’t given it any thought whether I will be casting my vote or not,” Par-bin Deori, a resident of Udalbakra said.

Lastly, most of the college going youths, with whom we had spoken to and who were above the age of 18, did not know about the upcoming GMC elections. They were too oc-cupied with academics, friends and hangouts. A few of them, though, were excited at the fact that they would be voting for the first time ever in any election.

“I have heard about the upcoming GMC election through my parents and I am very excited that I will be casting my vote for the first time,” saidTaranganaRajbongshi,adegreestudent from Pragjyotish College, Guwahati.

in THE EnDThe GMC elections have come and

gone. The generic feeling is that the citizens will probably benefit from it. There is no doubt that, having lo-cal representatives in an elected body helps in solving various issues in a civil society. But, what we, as responsible citizens and Guwahatians need to do is to ensure that the elected members take their responsibilities seriously and live up to their promises. This does not merely mean that we need to point out their fallacies all the time, but to make sure that there is proper cooperation from the citizens as well. The govern-ing bodies need to be well informed of their troubles in order for them to take action.

From the authorities’ side, it is time to rethink about spreading awareness, so that larger participation of people in urban elections and governance can be achieved. Otherwise, the fate of the greater public will be controlled by a few representatives, elected by a hand-ful of people and the whole process will become a mockery of democracy.

Mayorin

council

DepartmentalStanding committees

Ward councilors

Area Sabha Members

“There always exists some kind of conflict between the bureaucrats and public representatives”

kamal Dey, Ex Deputy Mayor, gMc

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Lead Story

Words: MrinMoyee hAzArikAPhoto: shAshAnkA GoGoi

gPLUS oPinion PoLLWiLL THE gMc ELEcTionS WoRk?

SMS gpLuS YeS/no to 56677

GPLUS JUN 21 - JUN 28, 2013 4

“

AMBUBACHIThe other side

The weather hardly matters when it comes to festivals, and guwahati, which beams with pride, living with Maa Kamakhya on its side, gets

ready each year, to welcome lakhs of pilgrims to the ambubachi Mela. Rahul Chanda reports...

Every monsoon, during the Assamese month of Ahaar, devotees from all over the world throng to the city to take part in this religious festival. This year, the festival

begins on June 22nd and will end on June 26th. A week before the Mela started, people had already started to occupy the tem-ple premises and the city as a whole.

It is said that the goddess of the temple, Devi Kamakhya, Mother Shakti, goes through her annual cycle of menstruation during this time. It is also believed that during the monsoons, the creative and nurturing power of the ‘menses’ of Mother Earth becomes accessible to devotees at this site during the Mela. There is no idol of the deity but she is worshipped in the form of a yoni-like stone instead, over which a natural spring flows. So, tantriks and sadhu babas from across the world make it a point to visit Kamakhya and purify their soul to be able to communicate with the almighty during this festival.

An Italian pilgrim Gabriella, who likes to be called Gauri, is visiting Kamakhya for the third consecutive time during Am-bubachi. “The first time I visited was just out of curiosity, but after attending the festival I discovered that it has not been cor-rupted by the effects of the West. I keep coming here for the beauty and the uniqueness of the festival,” she said. Gabriella’s daughter has also accompanied her to Guwahati and claims to

be a Saadhvi. “My name is Saadhvi Durga Nath. I live in the forest near the banks of river Narmada in Madhya Pradesh and visit Kamakhya every year.”

Sebastian Boutillier from Paris lives in Varanasi and has been visiting Kamakhya every Ambubuchi for the last 16 years. “I enjoy coming here to meet Mother Kamakhya every year. I live the way selfless people live. I sing, dance, get high and feel the almighty’s presence.” Stressing more on ‘getting high’ Sebastian said, “You don’t need dope to meet God.”

HigH DESiRESWhile entering Kamakhya, we met a few tantrik babas filling

up their chillums with cannabis to go into a ‘trip’ to ‘free them-selves’ from the worries of survival. “After smoking up, my soul becomes calm and it is easy to concentrate on the saadhna to communicatewithMaaKamakhya,”saysTantrikHiralalMan-dal from Chirang district. The amount of cannabis consumed by an individual during the Ambubachi festival is approxi-mately 250 gms, as told to us by Mandal’s partner Vaishnab Parimal Das from Bongaigaon. “At least 250 gms is required by any tantrik who smokes and 100 gms costs around Rs 600.” If this figure is to be taken seriously then you can imagine the

total quantity consumed in three days. “Everyone brings their own stock but if it gets over then we get it form nearby places like Pandu,” said Chetan, a tantrik from Nadiya.

According to the Kamakhya Debutter Board Vice Chair-man, Nandi Nath Sharma, the expected number of devotees and visitors is estimated to be around 7 lakhs as compared to last year’s figure of 5 lakhs. When we asked him about the use of cannabis during the festival, Sharma said, “We have installed18CCTVcamerasanddeployed50securityperson-nel inside the temple. We don’t allow people to smoke inside the temple but they if still do then we inform the police.” He also added that people think it is the Lord Shiva’s prasaad and thus people use it.

THE ‘TRiP’individual limit – 250gCost of 100 gms – `600

Last resort – Vicinities like Pandu

Everyone brings their own stock but if it gets over

then we get it form nearby places like Pandu,”

in the news


WHiTE VS bLackMeeting people from various places across the

world, we came across a unique tantrik with a skull and a staff in his hands. Karam Nath, a tantrik form West Bengal who claims to be a magician, said that he had come to purify his soul so that his powers gets doubled by Shiv Sad-hana and Shakti Upasana. “I know magic because of the powers I have gained from tantra knowledge. I can cure snake bites, diseases like asthma and many more. I can talk to the almighty through my soul.” Do people misuse these powers? “I do not misuse but some peopledo.GotoBogalaTempleatnightonTuesdaysandSaturdays and you might meet people who use tantra vidya for negative purposes.”

Anxioustoknowthetruth,wereachedBogalaTempleonTuesday, the18thofJune,at11.50pm.Itwasdarkandthetemple was silent. People were getting to retire for the night. And there, we met another interesting sadhu – Baba Bhoot-nath Giri Maharaj. He had come to Guwahati in 1962 to work but soon after, he met Baba Rishikesh Maharaj from Mayong. “I reached the Himalayas and took his initiation. I left my greed for money, women and food. After years of meditation, I got the powers of tantra vidya. I used these powers for the social wellbeing but later on my soul got corrupted and I started using it for evils like hypnotising women and cursing families. It was in 1975 that I realised I was practising black magic and took a vow in front of Maa Kamakhya never to practice it ever again.” Do people still practice black magic now? “People still do it but not openly. During Ambubuchi almost all tantriks make sure they visit Kamakhya and add to their powers. Some use it for good and some for bad. They practise it in secrecy.” As the conversation went on, Giri Maharaj referred us to a Kaali Saadhak Durga Prasad Baruah.

He believes that people still perform black magic. “Come with me to Ambubachi after 22nd June and I will introduce you to people who practise black magic. You can get anything you desire,” he said.

iMPRESSing THE aLMigHTY We observed that even the Government of Assam is pretty

excited about the festival and have made several arrangements. Three camps have been set up for the pilgrims in the city – at Kamakhya Railway Station, Pandu and Sona Ram School field.

The total budget allocated for the festival is 1crore 27 lakhs

go to bogala Temple at night on Tuesdays &

Saturdays, you might meet people who use tantra vidya for nega-

tive purposes.”

“and they have also given an assurance of arranging 40 to 50 ASTCbusesforthepeopletotravelfromthecampstothetem-ple during the festival.

Advisor of Atal Chatra Seva Sang (NGO), Rajkumar Ringa-nia said, “The Deputy Commissioner has permitted six stalls at Kamakhya to distribute food to the pilgrims and one of them is ours.” They will provide breakfast, lunch and supper to the pilgrims free of cost to gain Maa Kamakhya’s blessings! There are other NGO’s too like Maa Kamakhya Seva Samiti, Jai Maa Seva Samiti and Neelanchal Seva Samiti who will be providing service to the visitors and pilgrims

bLESSED bE THoUPeople have their own ways to earn blessings - some through

social work, some through meditation, a few feel blessed through intoxicants while others dream of being blessed with powers. Do people really get powers to cure or even destroy?

In this modern era, talking about superstitions feels a little weird, but then you come across people who believe in the di-

vine powers, communication with the soul and the spirits. It is said that God helps those who help themselves. People spend a lot in impressing God for good reasons as well as bad. Let’s see what this year’s Ambubachi has in store for us? Good or bad? White or black?

in the news

Photos: rAhul chAndA & hiMAnGshu lAhkAr

GPLUS JUN 21 - JUN 28, 2013 6

While driving towards Paltan Bazar from Bhangagarh, just before reaching KFC, we come across three pillars erected, with some

staircases leading up. If you are curious to know what it is, well It is the incomplete Lachit Nagar foot over-bridge which has been under construction since last three years. It has been lying like this for so long that it has almost become a mystery for Guwahatians. It is slowly on the verge of becoming akin to an ancient ruin! GPlus de-cided to talk to the people in the area about their views on this intriguing structure.

Lachit Nagar Foot over bridge

father Johnson parackal, SdBexecutive director, dBi

My cityMy perspective

VOX POPULI

“It is very inconvenient to cross the road here because of the constant ve-hicular traffic. It will be convenient if the footbridge is completed so that we can easily cross the road without any hassle and can avoid meeting with accidents.”

priya Basumatari, Student

“Since the last three years, the government has been constructing this bridge but it seems like it will nev-er get over. This is a point where quite a few acci-

dents have happened in the past and if this bridge is completed, it will help the pedestrians cross the road safely.”

anil deka, auto rickshaw driver

When you are driving down towards Ulubari or coming up from there, it is quite a risky af-fair because Lachit nagar is a place where a lot of people tend to cross the road without any warn-ing. As a vehicle owner I would love to see the overbridge being completed so that there is no unnecessary harm to anyone.

olonkar Kashyap, graphic designer

“They have been working on it since a long time now and a very few labours work on the project. I just see one or two people coming and working here sometimes. The government should do something to complete this bridge as soon as possible.”

geeta das, Shopkeeper:-

“I feel that the idea of this foot bridge is useless as the height of the bridge is way too much for the elders who will have a tough time climbing the bridge. The youngsters will hardly use the bridge as it will be a waste of time for them and they will just dart across the road. So, only beggars will probably use the bridge to sleep on it at night. I am totally against the bridge!”

Manik Jain,Shopkeeper

Time and again, I have wondered what’s it that makes you specially at-

tached to a city. Is it just the ever-changing skyline stud-ded with numerous high-rise structures, some of them com-mendable architectural accom-plishments? Or is it the many landmarks – historical, cultural,

that embellish its alleys and avenues?My city, Guwahati has a fair share of all these. Even a fre-

quent visitor to the city gets a feeling that each time he arrives at this ‘Gateway to Northeast’, it’s a new city. As the city elongates into the suburbs in all directions, one sees the brick and mortar revolution transforming people’s life. As years go by, the shape and size of buildings get crazier and classier. Not surprising per-haps for a city listed among the fastest developing cities of India!

I like the swanky look of cars that now whiz past its reno-vated streets. I like the feel of malls and the aroma of coffee joints – all of which keep popping up, like never before!

But frankly, there are things, beyond cars and malls and cof-fee that I cherish about Guwahati. Even more than the mighty Brahmaputra on whose vulnerable banks my city perches pre-cariously. Even more than the excellent amenities the city offers – reasonably good roads, a growing airport, a bustling rail station, and adequate business opportunities.

I have always loved the spirit of Guwahati – forward-looking and friendly. Not many cities in India, for example, can boast of such incredible ethnic mix as Guwahati. In that sense, it’s not only the Gateway to Northeast, but also a microcosm of incred-ible India itself. Despite occasional failures, the city has, by and large, preserved and nurtured this admirable sense of tolerance and understanding. Despite occasional hiccups, it seems to be-lieve that variety is an asset more than a liability.

Sadly, what I cherish most is also what’s most in peril. There have been some shameful instances, even in the recent past, when the spirit of Guwahati and humanity itself was mauled and crushed by insensitive forces. But I would like to believe they are exceptions and things of the past.

There is a Brahmaputra that caresses the margins of our mind. At times the vulnerable margins crumble and fall. It’s a temporary thing.

It would be cruel of me to fly over the chaos and squalor that is also Guwahati. On the loins of my city, I can almost physically see the encumbrances that often accompany growth and devel-opment. On the one hand, potholes and poverty, on the other, luxury and opulence!

The widening gap between these two categories does not au-gur well for any city, or society. My take on my city is simple. There is no question of any true citizen of this great city surren-dering the essentials to alien forces. It is these ‘essentials’ of the heart that have, over centuries, fashioned a civilization we today take pride in.

As the city of Guwahati looks east, west, south and north, and proudly continues to be a trailblazer in progress, develop-ment and growth, it has in its entrails, an even more prized gift for the country – an enlightened mind and a sensitive heart, not corrupted by the demands of modern living but enhanced and enriched by it.

Mission iMPossiBLE? almost

City


In Assam, the financing of small and me-dium enterprises (SMEs) has attracted much attention in recent years. It has

become an important topic for economists and policymakers working on financial and economic development. This interest is driven in part by the fact that SMEs account for the majority of firms in an economy and also gen-erate a significant share of employment. Fur-thermore, most large companies usually start off as small enterprises and so the ability of SMEs to develop and invest becomes crucial to any economy wishing to prosper.

The economic and social importance of the small and medium enterprises (SME) is well recognised in Assam by many entrepreneurs these days, as they tend to break the trend of working under people and raise employment, not just for them but a huge number of people who slowly join them in their endeavours. It is also acknowledged that these actors in the economy may be under-served, especially in terms of finance. This has led to significant de-bate on the best methods to serve this sector.

bank cURioSiTYAlthough there have been numerous

schemes and programmes in different envi-ronments, there are a number of distinctive recurring approaches to SME finances or loans. SME loans or finance is the funding of small and medium sized enterprises and it represents a major function of the general business finance market – in which capital for different types of firms are supplied, acquired, and costed or priced. Capital is supplied through the business finance market in the form of bank loans and overdrafts; leasing and hire-purchase arrangements; equity/corporate bond issues; venture capital or private equity; and asset-based finance such as factoring and invoice discounting.

“It’s not only SMEs who will gain. If they grow, even the banks will accumulate profit with the enterprises,” said Roma Bardhan, SBI manager. She further added that there are many educated entrepreneurs who end up wasting their enthusiastic talent because of fi-nancial crises, so by funding them, the banks are adding to their sense of social responsibil-ity. As for the growth of SMEs in the region, Ms Bardhan said, “With the development of various sectors in the region, the young entre-preneurs are enthusiastic and technically, very equipped. So, if they keep on getting good fi-nance and guidance from the government, I don’t see any reason for the sector not to grow.”

As the clamour for a developed Guwahati grows louder, various banks are turning their heads towards the SME sector by offering var-ious schemes to avail loans.

The perception of banks towards SMEs have somewhat changed in the recent past and with the entry of the private banks, increased competition has led to a rush in the financing business.

RiSk FacToRThe multiple financial options from the cap-

ital market have also compelled banks to take more risks in the case of SMEs. The increased lending to SMEs is propelled by the compul-sion of the market as well as by the rapid ex-pansion of these companies.

There is an array of factors driving the banks’ desire to become involved with SMEs and the most relevant aspect is the perception that this high risk factor will be adjusted by the profitability of the sector. This does not simply mean that the profits in the SME sector are at-tractive, but also, that they are very attractive in relation to the alternatives controlling the risk factors. For example, banks have started experiencing a decline of margins in the cor-porate sector because of intensified competi-tion from both the local and international capital markets and in the consumer sectors, because of the strong competition from other financial and non-financial institutions (such as departmental stores). The reduction in lending margins across segments has prompt-ed banks to increase fee-based revenue and product cross-selling, with SMEs becoming a natural target for expansion.

According to Manish Choudhary, anoth-er private bank manager, “It was a trend of banks to make sure that any loan can be fi-nalised only after some kind of guarantee or security. Because the risk factor involved in getting back the loan is huge and in the busi-ness sector, there are scores of stories about entrepreneurs filing for bankruptcy. But, it’s observed that if the business initiative looks well planned, the guarantee matter can some-times be kept apart.” Delving deeper into the guarantee factor, he further continues, “Guar-antee is the requirement for any loan. But now

for SMEs, at times, banks do tend to take risks and approve loans without security if the busi-ness design looks attractive.” So, the moral of the story is that banks can take risks for SMEs.

coRPoRaTE SUPPoRTMoreover, large domestic and foreign banks

with high fixed costs are more willing to pay the switching cost to work with SMEs, even if it was not a part of their original intention.

Other factors that banks mention as im-portant drivers are their relations with large corporate clients and the fact that SMEs are a strategic sector for growth in their economies.

These factors are partially linked. Firstly, large banks use (to whatever extent possible) their relations with large firms to try and iden-tify and sort out the SMEs that are worth ap-proaching. Significant dealings with the cor-porate sector allow banks to go downstream, partly using ‘chain’ relations, and associate with SMEs that act as suppliers or outsourcers to large corporations. The large corporations too might gain by ensuring that the SMEs with whom they work are offered appropri-ate financial products and services and, thus, operate more efficiently. In turn, banks ben-efit from the knowledge embodied in large corporations about the quality of SMEs, as this knowledge can help reduce substantially the problem of asymmetric information that banks face when approaching new SMEs.

BANKING ON SMEs Banks nowadays are more open to financing SMes as the deal

works both ways. A brief study by GPlus

“Its not only SMEs who will

gain. If they grow, even

the banks will accumulate

profit with the enterprises. ”

Business

GPLUS JUN 21 - JUN 28, 2013 8

Jyotshna Pall, a nineteen year old girl, originally from the Nagrijuli area of Baksa district,

was going through a tough phase in her life. And then, in 2012, she met a representative of Maitri. At that tender age, her parents being un-able to provide her with two square meals a day, she was in dire need of a job. But now, after meeting the representative of Maitri, she had suddenly found something to look forward to.

Jyotshna was taken to the Mai-tri centre, situated in the Hatigaon area and was enrolled into a course of a caregiver. She was trained in cooking, housekeeping, grooming, handling modern catering technol-ogies like microwaves, maintaining hygiene and discipline for a period of 15 days. After completion, she earned a placement in a residence of Guwahati as a ‘Sahayika’ and is now earning Rs 4000 per month.

WHaT iS MaiTRi?Purbanchal Maitri Development

Society, popularly known as Mai-tri, is a non-governmental organ-isation, founded by Gitali Thakur, a former employee of different mi-crofinance and livelihood promo-tion institutes. After returning to Assam in the 2010, she founded the organisation in the same year with a dream to provide livelihood to the rural poor of the state. Since then, she has been providing training to the needy girls and women of the state under three different courses - domestic workers known as Sa-hayika, Bed-Side Patient Attendant (BSPA) for patients, Old Age Care and Nanny or Caregiver for chil-dren.

“Although, the demand for do-mestic help is very high in and around the state, the conditions of the helpers are very bad. Since the sector does not have any formal ex-istence, the people, mostly women, engaged in this sector are not paid well. Most of the domestic helps are vulnerable to exploitation and

sometimes they are even subject to abuse, both physical and sexual, by their employers. This is where the need for Maitri comes in,” Founder and executive director of Maitri, Gitali Thakur told GPlus.

HoW DoES iT FUncTion?When a girl or woman seeks help

from Maitri, the officials carry out a background check on that particu-lar person. They also verify the in-formation regarding the family and other relevant issues, provided by the job seeking girls and women, by visiting their houses and families.

After verifying the information, the needy girls and women are taken to the Maitri centres, situ-ated in Guwahati and Jorhat. They are provided free training, so they can get skilled and become reliable domestic workers. This also fulfils the basic objective of Maitri which is to increase the employment of women.

After the completion of the courses, based on requirements, Maitri places these trained per-sonel in various households. Be-fore doing this though, Maitri also

does a background check on the employers too and if the employer agrees to the ethical code of con-ducts of Maitri, then he or she can employ the girl or woman trained by Maitri. An amount of Rs 1500 is deducted from the first salary of the placed girl or woman. Even after placement, the organisation keeps monitoring the households where the girls and women are be-ing placed.

There are two shifts, in which the sahayika or domestic workers can be employed - one is a full time shift and the other one a part time. In case of a full time sahaiyka, the employee (domestic help) stays at the employer’s house and part time sahayikas help out their respective employers in shifts.

HURDLESEven though the demand for do-

mestic help is very high in the state, there always exists a mismatch be-tween demand and supply.

“As I have myself been associ-ated with the service sector for 15 long years, I know that the sector has huge potential. As in the other

HELPINGLIVESMaitri, an organisation dedicated towards helping women with employment, is slow-ly managing to help both the citizens of guwahati and also the ones in need of a livelihood. Mrinmoyee Hazarika takes a trip to the organisation.

states, in Assam too, urban people need domestic help in their house-holds, but there is always a short-age. Because, people primarily come to this sector out of necessity and the children of a domestic help never dream of being the same as their parents. Moreover, these peo-ple need a job instantly, but then, they are reluctant to undergo any training,” Gitali Thakur stated.

She also mentions that motivat-ing a woman or girl to undergo training before employment is very tough. But, with the continuous ef-forts being taken by the staff of 18 of Maitri, it has so far been able to place 400 caregivers or domestic helps into the various households in and around the city.

“Sometimes, we also face issues of incompatibility suffered by both the employee and employers. These are mainly inadequate food and bad behaviour meted out by the employee. Sometimes, the employ-ers complain that the workers are undisciplined. But, we help in sort-ing out these problems and so far we have not faced any major prob-lems,” Thakur said.

Despite taking much trouble, right from pursuing a woman to training them and then to get them placed, Maitri has been facing shortages of funds while carrying out their jobs.

In this regard, Thakur said, “We are getting funds in the form of fees from employers who hire caregiv-ers from us and those who employ students passing out from our cen-tres. We also receive fees from can-didates who undergo skill training and grants from American India Foundation also help us in running the organisations. But, these are not enough. We have not got any fund from the government and it is very tough for us to generate funds for infrastructural and other devel-opment of our organisation”

Maitri has been doing a pretty commendable job in providing both the training and means to help out the citizens as well as those in need of employment. In the long run, we can only hope that they re-ceive proper and support to ensure proper growth and put a stable sys-tem in place to provide and support to the needy.

Most of the domestic helps are vulnerable to exploitation

and sometimes they are even

subject to abuse, both

physical and sexual, by their

employers.

Society

Photos: rAhul chAndA


These days, you will hardly findaTVChannelthatdoesnot run a program on Vastu

Shastra, Astrology, Feng-Shui, Lal Kitab and so forth. Most of the people are aware of the basic prin-ciples of vastu like the North and the east of a given plot should be

GUWAHATI & ITS VASTU

by Rajan Dua

for example in the city of guwahati:•Theportionofcityhavingriver

Brahmaputra (water) in the north viz. Jalukbari, Adabari, Fancy Bazaar, Pan Bazaar is more developed than t he area having Water (river) in its south that is Amingaon and North Guwahati.

• Inthesamewaytheareaofmar-ket from Bhootnath to Pandu has not developed due to a high north (The Kamakhya hill range).

• TheJailthoughhasbeenshiftedfrom Fancy Bazaar to Lokhra but the empty plot of land where the jail was situated ear-lier, it is full of Vastu defects and the authorities will have a tough time in developing it.

• The entire area of Deepor Beel will keep on having oneproblem after another due to the fact that this area has water in its south.

lower than the south and west. The best position to have a bore/ hand-pump/ well etc., is north and east or north-east, and the best place to have a source of fire is south-east. The master bedroom should be in the south-west of the house. These

are the basics applied to a house or a factory and these same principles can be applied to an entire city or town also.

Keeping this in perspective, one can also determine the vastu of Gu-wahati in relation to its position.

Guwahati has got its own share of Vastu friendly and non friendly spots, thing is to make a correct selection and use of that. Or else we shall have lots of projects where the “Shilanyas” is done and afterwards wild grass grows there.

in the same way, there are a few Vastu perfect places in and around guwahati to be used in the following manner:• For heavy industrialization the stretch of land betweenAzara

and Mirza is suitable. In my opinion that should be converted into an industrial park.

• Forhigherandtechnicaleducation,TheGovt.shouldconcen-trate on the areas in and around Sonapur and Khetri, as because it falls on the north-eastern side of Guwahati.

• The area of Palasbari close toBrahmaputra can be developedinto a tourist spot, Picnic Spot etc., as it falls in the north-west of Guwahati.

• BarakValley ismost suited for power generation, power gridand power distribution as it falls on the south-east of Guwahati.

being at the right place at the right time is the only thing that matters. the changing face of Guwahati presents us with one such opportunity. With more

than 1 million people residing in Guwahati, a state-of-the-art complex spreading across 50,000 sq. ft. with high end corporate and retail spaces, pleasant accommodation and suitable food is the need of the hour. the pioneer of plotted developments, rishaan realators proudly brings to you rishaan square, which is clearly amongst today’s most iconic development.

With its impressive contemporary architecture, rishaan square symbolizes Guwahati’s adaptation towards concrete novel develop-ment. strategically sited on Gnb road, all the premium locations of Guwahati such as airport and railway station is just a short distance away. Just 3-4 kilometres drive will take you to city’s most hustled loca-tion, GS Road. It capitalises on its catchment area of affluent localities like chandmari and zoo road. some of the residential projects in and around the area are also on the anvil.

the building’s facade is clothed in glass, exclusively illuminated for a visually arresting aesthetic design defining a truly versatile piece of architecture that allows in abundant light and ventilation. Marked with ample parking space with one basement level, this 7 floor building boasts of multi-level extravagant.

rishaan square offers a lot more than you expect. it dedicates 3 floors to its well planned and well zoned premium retail section with sufficient space for shopping. With this unmatched business opportunity, it sure is set to become the ultimate retail destination of Guwahati. A

range of different, modern, comfortable and secure workspaces on the third and fourth floors of the bright and airy building combines the strengths of well grounded experience with the dynamic needs of modern times. to extend your corporate life with convention facilities to perfection, rishaan square integrates business with hospitality and luxury in the form of a business hotel offering pleasant accommodation with a variety of superior services on floors 5 and 6. This is not it. Apart from the impressive retail spaces, world-class office spaces and luxuri-ous hotel, it also houses a restaurant with mesmerizing ambience, im-maculately planned interiors and well thought out intersecting spaces.

Landscaped terraces, fire fighting provisions, 2 hi-speed auto-mated elevators, 24 X 7 secured compounds with cctV monitor-ing, around-the-clock water supply, 100% power back up are some of the exclusive features that rishaan square possesses.

rishaan square promises to de-liver convenience at a single destina-tion within a short time. it swears by prompt, professional, friendly and courteous service while maintaining a clean and comfortable environment for its guests and staff.

Floor SpAceS•Shops (ground, 1st & 2nd)

200 sq. ft. to 2,333 sq. ft.

•Offices (3rd & 4th) 1,277 sq. ft. to 2,825 sq. ft.

•Hotel (5th & 6th) Built Up Area - 5,463 sq. ft.

& 5,207 sq. ft.

INCOMING

Space

GPLUS JUN 21 - JUN 28, 2013 10

Like all clichés, all bosses, on the first day, sermonise about team work, a friendly envi-

ronment, professional work cul-ture, decent relationship with col-leagues and so on. The bottom line, though, is that offices and relation-ships, whether personal or profes-sional, go hand in hand.

New workers come in and old ones leave.Clients, HR guys, boss, teammates - no end to the num-ber of people you meet and have to maintain relations with. It might sound a little melodramatic but in this crowd, your eternal instincts sometimes bribe your heart to like and in fact, simply fall for someone. Is it a mistake, a crime or a bless-ing? These are questions that haunt every young office goer in Guwa-hati these days. GPlus discussed the matter with a few young working professionals to discover their per-ception and experiences.

Manjori Borkotoky, a 27 year old journalistcumTVanchorhadthisto say about her experience dating a co-worker – “I had a very mixed experience.” According to her, such feelings are often very casual. “Very

Dating a colleague? THINK 2WICE!

if you are serious about your job and wary of your career, chances are that you are spending more than half of your waking hours at office. if that is the case, then chances are also there that you might just get into a relationship which might not be totally professional in nature, with one of your colleagues if you haven’t already done that. Rahul Chanda tries to figure things out for GPlus.

“I have read about what an

office spouse is and if you

are married, then the issue

revolves around infidelity ”

few of them actually evolve into proper relationship and culminate in marriage. I think it’s nice in the beginning when you feel like seeing each other, being with each other. But sometimes it can get on your nerves with the other person notic-ing every little thing you do, some-times prying on to your conversa-tions with other friends at office.” She further added that, as people advise, it is wise to keep your per-sonal and professional life apart.

On asking an engineer, who did not want to be named, he said, “It is interesting to work with someone you date. Workplace becomes very boring otherwise.”

A young lady doctor from GMCH feels, “It is not a bad idea. It helps working together and you can share a lot of things provided you do not quarrel publicly and main-tain professional decorum.”

oFFicE SPoUSEEveryone has a chief who can be a

colossal pain in the derriere. In ad-dition to that, we have frustrations at work as well. Interestingly, in this scenario the concept of the ‘office

spouse’ seems to be catching up. A work spouse or an office spouse is a co-worker, mostly of the opposite sex, who shares a very special bond with you, having bonds almost similar to those of a marriage. As Guwahatians too have now moved on from the mindsets of cultural taboos, an office spouse seems to be an interesting idea these days.

Discussing this concept with a government employee Zinnia Bur-agohain, whose husband happens to be her erstwhile co-worker, she happily replies, “For me it is posi-tive to date a colleague as you need a best friend at work who under-stands you. Moreover, if you date someone outside the office, it’s sometimes annoying to explain about your problems. If you have someone in office, you can share your problems with him anytime you want and also exchange ideas which can help you to work effi-ciently.”

On the idea of ‘office spouse’, she says, “I have read about it and if you are married, then the issue revolves around infidelity. It is sub-jective, but if you are in such kind of a relationship then you cannot share certain things with your hus-band or wife which you share with your office spouse, so I am against

this idea. But it also depends upon people and the way they maintain the relationship. If you become very close and get physically engaged then it becomes complex and com-plicated and the question of infidel-ity arises.”

EMPLoYERS’ aTTiTUDE

No doubt this issue sounds inter-esting to many young office goers, the employers’ take in this regard is very essential too as ‘the boss is always right.’ There are many com-panies in India who back the con-cept and even provide incentives to employees for getting married to a co-worker. There are also com-panies who believe office love is a risky business. The recent incident about Phaneesh Murthy, the first Indian CEO sacked for a sexual harassment case, might also have happened because of the romantic approach which modern office ‘ro-meos’ adapt these days. Whatever be the tale, the moral of the story is that the organisation has had to work hard to manage the disaster and save the goodwill.

Thinking on similar lines, GPLUS talked to the director of Kailrock Infrastructure private

limited, Imnebula Chang, and she expressed her thoughts - “We don’t support office romance and the idea of an office spouse as it somehow directly or indirectly harms the office environment.” Being more specific on the matter, she said, “It seems like people tend to become less serious about their work and a lot of so-called office politics start. Couples’ start spending time with each other or find excuses to be together. We had to sack a cou-ple because they were found to be spending too much time together and their performances started dip-ping on a regular basis. It is these kinds of relationships which spoil the decency and decorum of any of-fice and getting physically engaged is almost like a fashion these days.”

Along with the changing trends and styles, the meaning of a rela-tionship is also changing in every city these days. But do people really value and treasure any relationship they are in or in that case is the meaning clear to the so called mod-ern youth. Let’s wait and watch if everyone is as lucky as Zinnia, who enjoys the happiness of a successful relationship, or do the cases of bro-ken relationships keep dominating the future office love stories?

Life


In spite of the recent global eco-nomic crises, the animation in-dustry across the world has con-

tinued to grow at a rapid pace. In India too, despite its late entry, it is on the path of expansion and ready to experience a prolonged period of boom. What is more exciting is the fact that this industry would pro-vide employment to thousands of prospective 2-D and 3-D animators every year. This boom is further go-ing to be fuelled by the outsourcing of animation projects by Disney and other animation giants to In-dia. Multitudes of international animation films kindle the interest of not only to the kids but grown-ups too, in showcasing never-seen emotions, depth of story board and crisp execution and editing. From what was earlier perceived as some-thing for kids and youngsters has now become a family affair.

Talking about the scope of ani-mation in the Northeast, we see that now students from the region have now started showing an interest in

THE ANIMATION EFFECTWhat does animation have in store for you?

taking up animation as a career and that is the reason behind the mush-rooming of a number of animation institutes in the recent past. Even though the student turnout at these institutes is far less than the other centres across the country, it has shown a steady jump from that of the past.

PREREqUiSiTES o F aniMaTionThere are no specialised sub-

jects that need to be studied at this level. But an aptitude in sketching or drawing and a deep interest in computers are always considered essentials to gain entry into the ani-mation industry. It would be very appropriate to study fine arts at the college level and would be an ideal way to give a career in animation a push. If, however, you are not pur-suing fine arts but instead, pursu-ing some other stream, there are still chances to chalk out a career in animation. One just needs to be creative, have a flair for storytell-ing, understand human emotions

and have a penchant for technology. In such a situation, you must have an attitude and passion to excel in animation.

Arena, the pioneer of animation education in India and MAAC, as an institute, are viewed very highly amongst the students here. Both the institutes, combined together, have around 330 plus centres in India and abroad.

The field of animation is some-times misunderstood with cartoon-ing. Cartooning is simply drawing caricatures of characters with some distinct subtleties to make the character evoke a sense of comedy. On the other hand, animation is the art of breathing life into these characters. Animation is the art with which inanimate objects are brought to life with the help of vari-ous computer based modelling and sequencing techniques.

aniMaToRS’ SPEak.Digambar Baruah,,Faculty, Are-

na Animation, Guwahati, says,“ The

job of an animator goes beyond the limits of fuelling life in the charac-ters but rather keeping them alive in the minds of the people. The students of Assam are creative, en-thusiastic and full of ideas but they just lack in confidence in taking up Animation as a career seeing its limited scope in the region.”

Gautam Patgiri, a faculty of MAAC, Guwahati says, “Students of the northeast lack in awareness regarding the existence of good institutes providing quality educa-tion in Animation and graphics. There are openings for prospective animators in the region but there is not enough manpower to support the same.”

Job PRoSPEcTS Animation industry is growing

exponentially. It has diversified into many branches, each resulting in thousands of jobs for qualified animators. There’s a significant demand for highly skilled and trained workforce that merges techni-cal and artistic capabilities. Not

only are there animation jobs avail-able in the motion picture industry but, there are several other fields that they are valued in as well. One can work as a Character Designer, Compositor, Digital link and paint artist, Key frame animator, 3D Modeler, Layout Artist, etc. Once one acquires the knowledge, skill set and the required work experi-ence, one can also start working as an Art director, Animation Direc-tor, Creative Director. One the sci-entific fields too, animators

have a high demand as the re-cent developments of dynamic animation techniques are now in-corporated in experiments, investi-gations and simulation.

Career

by sWAti PrAkAsh JhA

GPLUS JUN 21 - JUN 28, 2013 12

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Walk for Change“Walk for Change” a fash-

ion show by upcoming designer Manash Rabha, displayed an entirely new collection of Indian traditional wear in an

Indo-western Style. The fashion show involved not only professional models but also people from different backgrounds, who walked the ramp. Jour-nalsits like Dibson baruah and Vandana Borthakur, Professor and litterateur Shrutimala Duara, dancer

cumactorMeghranjaniMedhiandTanviSharma,allwere a part of the show. The objective of the show was to stress on the fact that everyone in life can

be celebrity irrespective of their profession. The show was choreographed by May-

ukh Sharma while Surojeet Dey was the makeup artist.

venue ITA Machkhowadate 15th June

Both the actors, Kareena and Abhisek debuted to-gether in Refugee, but have worked only once ever since in Sooraj Barjatiya’s Main Prem Ki Deewani

Hoon in 2003. But now, if everything goes well, people can see them together in Umesh Shukla’s upcoming movie, Mere Apne.

The OMG director Shukla has been in a casting dilemma for a while now. His next film, Mere Apne has a male lead in Abhishek Bachchan, but who would be paired opposite

him in the family-drama, was a mystery.The director had approached Kareena Kapoor and

after an intense hour-long meeting, Bebo seemed quite excited and she is seriously considering the project.

If the project works out with the actress, it will see Kareena team up with Abhishek Bachchan after a decade. It was rumoured that Bachchan Junior’s split with his fiance Karisma Kapoor the

same year had embittered relations between the two families and they were not in the mood to be civil to

each other ever since.

Will bebo, abhishek be seen together once again?

no more black coffee for Salman khan

After quitting alcohol and ciga-rettes, Bollywood’s bad boy, Sal-man Khan has completely given

up black coffee that was otherwise his favourite beverage during the day on the set during shoots.

However, few are aware of this fact that the actor has replaced his cup of black coffee with green tea. You will now find the actor often asking his spot boy, “Arey, green tea pilao.” In fact the beverage, rec-ognised for its multiple health benefits, is Salman’s constant companion on the set and the actor is known to sip it just like he did his black coffee before.

entertainment

Photos: rAhul bisWAs

GPLUS JUN 21 - JUN 28, 2013 14

Power cuts are nothing new for a Gu-wahatian like me. Having lived al-most all of my ‘three-decade-life’ in

this third corner of the third world, I have learnt to survive without this most basic of necessary services. Not just that, I can vouch for a fact that I have seen the power scenario becoming worse with time. Yes, there was load shedding and power cuts in the ’90s and the 2000s as well, but the situa-tion isn’t getting any better. Well, maybe one small difference has been the increasing use of inverters in every home and office which makes us feel like we are way ahead of the ‘mombatti’ and ‘bisoni’ days. But we aren’t! I mean, who are we kidding?

And as if the tardy power supply isn’t frustrating enough, I hear some talk about a major hike in the tariffs. The ‘powers-that-be’ have the audacity to propose a tariff hike that could see your bills go up by almost 50%. Are they trying to ridicule the already subservient existence of the tested and tor-tured ‘common man’? Do they even realise how ridiculous their claim is? They don’t have enough supply to keep the computers running during business hours or to keep the fans whirling for more than an hour at a stretch and the lights go off just when it’s exam time, but they do have the gall to ask for more money. Preposterous!

When quizzed about the failure of the ‘three-term old’ Government to provide reasonable power supply, the honourable power minister cites the steep increase in demand, which cannot be met by the sup-ply. Alright! Point Noted! We admit Guwa-hati has grown immensely in the last 5-6 years and that the power needs have grown inadvertently. But isn’t it the same govern-ment that has been in power since 2001? Are they admitting to their folly of not hav-ing imagined such a growth and hence not planned accordingly? If the government wants to admit that there was no planning in its part which caused this ‘growth’, then why do they stake claim for the state’s ‘de-velopment and progress’?

Besides, it is embarrassing that despite the vulgar sums of financial packages and schemes on offer by the Central govern-ment, we are unable to make arrangements for power generation. A region blessed with so much rainfall and resources should not be power starved at all. And here we are begging for power from neighbouring states.

In the light of this ineptitude and failure on the part of the government, I daresay we are much better off letting professionals do the work. Privatisation has worked wonders in places like Mumbai, where electricity

cuts are unheard off. But out here, the very word ‘privatisation’ sends shivers down the spines of our inefficient Electricity Board employees. We have already heard voices of dissent from the workers who have opposed the privatisation move; of course this oppo-sition stems more from their need to save their cushy government jobs.

Privatisation in the right hands could be the panacea for all our electricity woes. ‘Right hands’ though is the key term here. If the process of privatisation is transparent and the whole body comes under a certain review

mecha-n i s m likeRTI,it might just be the impe-tus that our laggard power situation needs. And I’m sure most people wouldn’t mind paying a few hun-dreds more for hassle free uninterrupted power supply. But obviously, keeping in mind the economic situation of the region, a steep and sudden increase in prices (just like the one proposed now) might not be welcome from all quarters. There can be a way out for that as well. We can have sepa-rate slabs based on consumption. In other words, the govt. can charge slightly higher for commercial consumers, government and corporate offices; while lower income and domestic consumers may have a lesser slab.

This may sound like an inane idea to the great minds sitting behind the ministries but where are your ideas, I say? Whatever the methods or ideas you ‘intelligent souls’ adopt, as a concerned citizen I can only hope that you do so with some sincerity and honesty. Now, can you do that?

Like the mombatti and bisoni days are history now, slamming the Assam Power Distribution Corporation Lim-

ited (APDCL), without knowing the ground reality, is also a cliché. Unlike other energy forms like fuel and gas, electricity cannot be stored in bulk other than in batteries. It has to be consumed the moment it is produced. There is always a variation in the consumer demand and utility and therefore, there is a regular requirement of arrangement of power from different sources.

Post independence, the government de-cided that it should be a state level process and so the Electricity (Supply) Act 1948 was enacted, thereby forming the State Electric-ity Boards (SEBs), which started working in most of the major states with the coop-eration of the local governments. This was done in order to fulfil the requirement of the states’ demands. But after the advent of large scale generators, especially the hydro-powered ones, different states had to coor-dinate and work together.

In 1991-92, India witnessed economic policy changes and the markets opened up for private and foreign investments. Even the power sector opened up and soon As-sam got its first ever gas based power station at Bashkandi and A d a m t i l l a in Barak Valley, which had a total power genera-

tion capac-ity of 24.5 MW. The s t a t i o n

had been generating power

since 1997 but had to stop its services in 2012 due to the un-

availability of fuel. The government again initiated changes

in the policy thereby enacting a new Elec-tricity Act in 2003. By this Act all exist-ing Acts are converted to a one consoli-date Act of Electricity. According to this amendment, the entire electricity work-ing structure was divided into three parts - generation, transmission and distribu-tion. In Assam, the state electricity board was divided into Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGCL) which is responsible for generating electricity.

Then there is Assam Electricity Grid Corporation Limited (AEGCL) which is responsible for the transmission of power in the state. AssamPower Distribution Corporation Limited (APDCL) takes care of the distribution part.

It is true that price hike of any commod-ity or product will hamper the consumers. But the fact is that electricity is a product

generated by using energy. People will be able to understand the reason for a hike only if they have knowledge about the en-tire process from production to consump-tion. Assam’s own generating company (APGCL) can produce 30% of the required electricity needed for the people of this state and rest is bought from companies likeNEEPCO,NTPCandsoonaspertheallocations made by the Government of In-dia. The rates are decided by the companies and approved by the appropriate regulatory commissions. Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission calculates and fixes the price of buying. Due to factors like corrosion of boilers due to high sulphur content in coal, difficulties in transportation of coal, high cost of production, mechanical problems, location complexity, scarcity of coal and other fuels, the companies keep increasing the rates from time to time. Tomeet thisdemand, tariff hike is a part of this process.

There are some other factors too - hydro power stations entirely depend on rainfall and the rainfall patterns are different in dif-ferent areas, so hydro power generators can produce limited power in the winters. Simi-larly, due to reasons like bandhs, accidents, landslide and so on, the fuel companies like ONGC, OIL etc, cannot maintain the required gas supply to the thermal power generation companies which results in the deficit of power supply. Likewise, there are many valid reasons for power supply prob-lem and load shedding to a substantial ex-tent.

With development of society and also the kind of finance facilities available, buy-ing sophisticated electronic equipments are a no big deal. So, with the advent of modernisation, the need for electricity has also increased. Various social conflicts and natural problems like bandh, scarcity of rainfall, scarcity of fuel also put pressure on the system, which add up to the problems. Furthermore there are cases of electricity thefts taking place in rural areas of the state.

So, when there is a requirement to meet all the needs, the price adjustments in form of hike is also required to sustain the opera-tion of the system. The increase in tariff is not a sole decision of Distribution Compa-ny but a culmination of requirements and changes which take place in the Petroleum Sector, Coal sector, Foreign Exchange and other natural factors like rainfall. The open-ness of the regulatory function as provided in the act to be analysed, scrutinised and understood before slamming it.

Is proposed PoWEr TArIFF HIKE acceptable?

angSHUMan DUTTa M.k.aDHikaRY

EnTREPREnEUR DgM, aPDcL

Are they trying to ridicule

the already subservient existence of

the tested and tortured

‘common man’?

g-talk


SAFETYWITH STYLE

The changing style quotient has now invaded into the safety arrangements of the

passionate riders. As the young generation is flooding the roads with stylish bikes, the whole idea about the standards of safety has changed in the past few years. Their zeal for fashion has compelled the manufacturers of bike accessories to rethink while designing helmets - the most essential safety accessory for a rider.

As the city of Guwahati is wit-nessing a growth in the numbers of two-wheelers, most of them in their teens and twenties, the distributors and dealers of bike accessories too have started concentrating on deal-ing with various different types of helmets, both in terms of designs and style.

Bimol Roy, owner of Sadhu auto spares, an authorised distributor of the helmet brand Vega, says, “We have been dealing with bike acces-sories for a long time. The interest of the people have now shifted from the simple ones that do the job to helmets which are more stylish and go with the latest fashion trends. But, at the same time, they also want to maintain the safety stand-ards too.”

Roy further stated that the youth normally go for stylish helmets and the older ones look for more

standard ones. Women are gener-ally regarded as being the more concerned ones in terms of saftey but apparently, most of them opt for the fashionable, colourful, half-masked and non- branded helmets without really caring if the brand is ISI marked or not.

“Apart from Vega, we also deal with another brand named Studds. Presently, we have 14different mod-els of Vega and 35 models of Studds available at our store. The Vega

models Off Road, Eclipse and Cruiser are ones in demand now. Likewise, customers mostly prefer models like Track, Ninja concept,Marshall and Chrome which are from Studds,” Roy said.

The price of the Vega helmets range from Rs 710 to Rs 2330 and Studds start from around Rs 780 and go up to Rs 1995. Imported brands like LS2, Spark and MRC are also available and the prices range from Rs 2,500 to Rs 6,500. Moreover, light weight and half masked helmets, normally manu

factured for women and com-monly termed as Dilliwala helmets, are also available in the markets.

Mobike solution, the lone dis-tributor of the helmet brand Aaron across the state, is also of the view that considering the growing de-mand for fashionable accessories by the bike riders, the manufacturing

companies are now manufacturing stylish helmets.

“As the young generation is look-ing for fashionable helmets, the makers are now also manufactur-ing stylish helmets along with the standard old ones, all according to the safety standards set by Govern-ment of India. People upto the age of 30 want funky helmets and peo-ple above the age group of 35 want standard helmets,” Proprietor of Mobike solution Sundeep Kundila told G Plus.

The wholesale and retail selling outlet of Mobike solution, situ-ated at Chatribari, near AT road,also deals other helmet brands like Steelbird, Autogreen, Vega, Ergo, Studds and Habsolite.

“The price range of Aaron avail-able in our outlet is between Rs 600 and Rs 1670. Steelbird helmets come between the price ranges Rs 810 to Rs 2999. The helmets of Autogreen brand are available be-tween Rs 190 to Rs 800 and Vega helmets are available between the price ranges of Rs 1000 to Rs 3000. Helmets of Ergo and Studds are available between Rs 500 to Rs 1100 and Rs 900 to Rs 4000 respectively,” Kundiala said.

He also stated that there were 16 different models of the Aaron hel-mets available in his shop. Besides, 15 models of Steelbird, 4 models of

Autogreen, 12 models of Vega, 4 models of Ergo and Studds are available at the Mobike solutions.

“We have a service centre and we provide services like repairing etc to the customers. We have a customer base across the North east,” Kundila further mentioned.

Navkarautomotive, abikeaccessorydealer situatedatATroad,dealswith helmet brands like Steelbird, Autogreen, Aaron, Gliders, and Vega etc.

“We have noticed that the young people prefer stylish helmets, which have graphic illustrations. Customers mostly go for brands like Steelbird and Aaron. There is a huge demand for Dilliwala helmets, the names of which are Safar, Samurai, Biker etc,” Owner of Navkar automotive Amit Jain told.

The price range of Steelbird, available in Navkar automotive is between Rs 810 to Rs 1600. Autogreen helmets are available between Rs 550 to Rs 1050. Gliders helmets come at Rs 1300 and the price range of Vega helmets, found in Navkar automotive is between Rs 1620 to Rs 2000. Moreover, ‘Dil-liwala helmets’ are available for Rs 300 and Rs 350.

The importance of bike helmets cannot be stressed enough. When it comes to protecting the head, nobody wants to take a second chance. Brain concussions resulting from minor injuries during accidents can lead to life threatening injuries. At the same time style is also an important element for the bikers. Thus helmets, being the most necessary item, need to be styl-ish too. Stylishly safe is hence the new mantra of the bikers.

6500

6000

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Bazaar

A gpluS eXcluSIve

GPLUS JUN 21 - JUN 28, 2013 16

The hometown of the 6th Dalai Lama is one of the most attractive places in

Arunachal Pradesh. The destina-tion is located at a height of around 10,000 ft above sea level. Home to the Monpa tribe, Tawang sharesitsborderwithTibet in thenorth,Bhutan in the south-west and the Sela range in the east.

It is believed that the place has

derived its name from one of the oldest and largest Buddhist monas-teriesinIndia,TawangMonastery.Perched on the edge of the ridge along the western part of this des-tination, TawangMonastery is animportant learning centre.

‘Ta’ means Horse and ‘Wang’

means Chosen. It is believed that the site on which the monastery has been constructed was chosen by the horse, which was owned by Merag Lama Lodre Gyamtso. According to reports, Merag Lama was unable to decide a location to establish the monastery. In order to seek divine guidance for choosing the con-struction site for the monastery, he was praying inside a cave. When he

came out after finishing prayers, he found that his horse was missing. On searching, he saw that horse was standing on a hilltop.

On seeing his horse on the hill-top, he considered this as a sign of divine blessing and finalised that location for construction of the

Misty Mountain Hop

monastery. The construction of this monastery was completed with the help of people residing in the neighbouring villages. At present, those same neighbouring villages are responsible for the upkeep of the monastery.

Tawang Monastery Tawang isprominent for its400

years old Buddhist Monastery lo-cally termed Gumpha. It is the fountainhead of spiritual life of the followers of the Gellupa sect of the Mahayana school of Bud-dhism. The Tawang Monastery isconnectedwiththefamousTorgvafestival which is held in the elev-enth Monpa month called the Dawa Chukchipah during Decem-ber to January as per the Buddhist Calendar. The Tibetan influencehere is clearly identifiable, with the elaborately painted wooden win-dows and other motifs. Prayer flags flutter in the breeze outside. There is an 8 meter high gilded statue of Lord Buddha. A must visit is the craft centre which produces very fine woollen carpets of colourful designs and masks.

TawangMonasteryisalsopopu-larly known as Galden Namgey Lhatse, which means celestial para-

dise. Before the construction of this monastery, Tawang was inhabitedby the Monpa tribe. At that time, the Monpa tribe was under the rule of the Mon kingdom, which had their kingdom stretching from TawanguptoSikkim.However,lat-er the entire kingdom went under thecontrolofTibetandBhutan.

When India got its independence fromBritain, Tawangwas severedofffromTibet.In1962,Tawangwasconquered by the Chinese troops, who destroyed some portions of the monastery. For six months, the entire district was under the con-trol of Chinese nationalist troops. However, after a retreat, it went un-der the control of India.

around Tawang SeLaPass:OnthewaytoTawang

you reach Se La Pass. The World’s Second highest Pass, the Sela Pass at 4,125 meter, which runs through a small ridge and along a placid lake called the Paradise Lake, in In-dia is a must visit place.

PakangTengTsoLake,thespec-tacular lake lies at about 17km from Tawangandadazzlingexampleofthe hidden treasure amidst the vast green vegetation.

Urgelling Monastery: The birth place of Tsangyang Gyasto, thesixth Dalai Lama of a Monpa Mother, and belonging to Nying-mapa sect is situated at a distance of5kmfromTawang.

How to reach

The nearest airport is Lilabari airport in North Lakhimpur, Assam.

Travelers can hire taxis and buses to enter the state.

Helicopter Services operated by Pawan Hans Heli-copters Limited runs daily shuttle services (except

Sundays).

Where to stayGAKYI KHANG ZHANG

Rooms starting at `1300

TAWANG TOURIST LODGE

Rooms starting at `300

travel


SpringSummer

DEAL, lady’s top (Black+Red+White) ` 1195Sohum Shoppe, G S Road

cOLORS IN AccENT, lady’s cotton top (Printed Orange) ` 1495

HUB, G S Road MUfTI, gent’s polo T-shirt (Red+White+red stripe) ` 1299

Sohum Shoppe, G S Road

U.S. POLO ASSN. Slipper `1195HUB, G S Road

SOMNATH, floral printed skirt ` 845

HUB, G S Road

DEAL, skirt(black and green printed) ` 995

HUB, G S RoadcATWALK, tiger

print ballerinas ` 1695cATWALK, Lachit Nagar

REcAP, Capri ` 1299Sohum Shoppe, G S Road

ALLEN SOLLY, dress (Orange) ` 2499 Sohum Shoppe, G S Road

AND, light green top `1599Sohum Shoppe, G S Road

for girls Neutral colours seem to be on the horizon across many collections in the stores available across the city, A variety of floral print skirts , capris, loose fitted sleeveless tops, harem pants are ‘in’.

for MenBrightboldcolours,stripedTshirtstoproduceavari-ety of classy yet street-ready style is absolutely ‘in’.

footwear All that needs to go with the light summer clothes is a pair of trendy footwear. Light slippers, tie-up sandals, ballerinas are a must grab for fashion freaks this summer.

fashion

Pratha & divert, slim fit pant - ` 1595

Uni Style Image, men’s T-shirt (Dark

blue) - ` 899

GPLUS JUN 21 - JUN 28, 2013 18

Mrighdeep Singh Lamba’s effort to enter-tain the viewers with Fukrey is praisewor-thy. Fuk fuk fuk fuk fukrey... is the chorus

which keeps reverberating hours after you’ve left the theatre. The movie is bizarre, illogical and yet a charming coming-of-age tale of four slacker kids.

Every time, Honey (Pulkit Samrat) and Chucha (Varun Sharma) need money, the for-mer asks his friend about last night’s dreams and then interprets it with his inexplicable sense of logic. Likeable Manjot oozes sincerity, Ali Fazal, the wannabe musician in the filmhaslittletodoexceptstrumaguitar,whilePankajTripathishinesinhiscameo.

Richa Chadda has a lot of fun playing the don Bholi Punjaban. Priya Anand, as the simple girl next door, is a picture of innocence and beauty, while Vishakha

Singh makes everyone wish they had an accounts teacher like that.The guys keep dreaming and dare to chase them, even if they don’t have what

it takes to make it to college. There is also the struggling musician who has a genuine need to treat his dad’s paralysis in a private hospital. But, in the end, it is India and one thing that works is jugaad.

The storyline is all the same - of dreams and achieving them, but the screenplay and continuity of the film makes it a well scripted one which keeps you hooked till the end. The music is not great, but serves the pur-

pose with numbers like Ambarsoni and Kar le jugaad. Dialogues are witty, funny and in Delhi style which make you think twice.

Tosumup,thefilmisaone-timewatchtolaughandlivenupyourweekend.

If you want to see Superman, then this is your movie but

if you want to see your favorite superhero then you might get a

little disappointed. Before you get confused, let me explain that the name

Zack Snyder (director of 300 and Watch-men) automatically take you to another dimen-sion of visuals and MOS is not an exception. Henry Cavillis looks awesome in the ‘dark’ red and ‘dark’ blue costume, the build up of the story is great and the cast is almost perfect. But what disappoints you is that the fact that the script pays very little respect to the classic, which makes it just like any other dark, action, Holly-wood flick. If you take the ratio of Clark and Su-perman in the movie then it is 2:1 which is simi-lar to Bruce and Batman but then, the movie does not have the magic touch of Christopher Nolan.

Clark, here, deals with an alter ego clash and pays all that it takes to become a superhero, including his stepfather’s life. He goes around the world try-ing to find the reason looking for his origins and fi-nally discovers the fortress of solitude. In there, he finds his ready-to-wear suit and gets familiar with most of his powers and how to master them. But somehow the movie makes you wait for Superman, and when he arrives, sadly, it is not with a BANG that you expect. The screenplay seems stretched at times and the editing might even confuse a few.

The technical team saves the movie - you see su-perman fly and hear the spaceships fall. The action se-quences give you good value for money and they are just the kind of scenes you expect from a Superman movie. Michael Shannon looks menacing as General Zod and just like Bale, Henry Cavill seems almost a perfect match to be Superman. But remember the scene in the tunnel when Bat-mancomesontothescreenforthefirsttimeinTDKR?Thereisno such scene in MOS which gets your adrenaline pumping and makes you want to go ‘Hell Yeah!’

Man of steelThe name is enogh

director: Zack Snyder Cast: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams,Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe

The director of Tumi Jodi Kua, hasclaimed that she has infused her pas-sion for movie making in her maiden

venture and expects the new generation to love it! After watching the movie though, enormous

doubts regarding the director’s expectations and her perception about new age cinema goers auto-

matically come to mind.The storyline of the movie is based on a band of

musicians, Genesis 5, comprising of five friends who love music. But, the story turns on its head when the

band members fall for the same girl and the band splits.The movie, directed by Simple Gogoi has every ele-

ment of a Bollywood masala movie - love, song, dance, friendship, misunderstanding, betrayal and reunion, ex-cept for the expertise and creativity required.

“I am not sure that the people of my age will like the movie because, these types of movies are very common although it might be a new concept for the Assamese movie industry,” said Ananya Dutta, a girl in her twen-ties.

Ananya, who has also lent her voice for the movie said that though the narrative of the movie revolves around music, the director failed to showcase the very essence of music in the film.

“I like the background score, but some aspects, like crowds in a rock fest, are necessary in a movie, where

tuMi Jodi Kuaa lame effort to copy bollywood

masala movie

music plays a significant role. The musicians shown in the film lacked attitude,” Ananya said.

The songs are satisfactory but music directors Pranjal Bora and Chandan Bezbaruah might just have missed the opportunity to experiment with different genres of indigenous and folk music. In terms of acting too, the movie, the first half of which resembles Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, cannot be termed great. The performers have failed to impress the au-dience to a great extent.

Well, it would be great if our film makers could also concentrate on their craft and be clear on which areas they should get the real inspiration from. Songs, music, actors is a good way to start with but maybe they need to do some self-evaluation too.

fuKreYa jugaad to laugh

director: Mrighdeep Singh Lamba Cast: Pulkit Samrat, Varun Sharma, Manjot

Singh, Ali Fazal and Richa Chadda

reviews

Raanjhanaaisthisweek’sfreshreleasestarringTamilfilmactorDhanush in his Bollywood debut and Sonam Kapoor in the lead roles. Abhay Deol also features in the movie whose music has been

composed by A R Rahman. The film is produced by Krishika Lulla under thebannerErosInternational.ThemusicnumberslikeTumTakandRaan-jhna hua have already taken place in the charts. The buzz over this Anand L Rai film is pretty high as the tagline itself says it’s a love story for all ages.

NOW SHOWING

Words: shAMiM Mokles

Words: rAhul chAndA

Words: MrinMoyee hAzArikA


The BlackBerry Q10, a recent entrant into the indian smartphone market, is a serious piece of hardware with a classic appeal. it is akin to a classic 80’s bike fitted with a V8 engine. in a world dominated by touch phones, it is surprising that the Q10 is defi-

nitely not an eye-sore. it comes with a QWERTy keypad along with a 720 X 720 pixels touch display. it comes just months after the Z10 hit the subcontinent and with almost identical specs, both these models from BlackBerry are busy confusing buyers about which one they should go for.

bLackbERRY Z10 bLackbERRY q10display

Processor

Battery

Memory

Camera

Storage

4.2 inches capacitiveMulti touch screensupporting 768 x 1280pixels at 356 dpi

1800 mAh delivering a talktime of 10 hours

2 Megapixel front camera & 8 Meg-apixel rear camera with led flash, supporting Full Hd video capture

16 GB internal storage and upto 64 GB of external storage

2100 mAh Li ion delivering a talktime of 10 hours

3.1 inches capacitiveMulti touch screensupporting 720 x 720pixels at 330 dpi

dual core, 1.5 ghz

2 gB (dual-channel, 500 Mhz)

As you can see, both the Z10 and Q10 have pretty much the same things to die for and the primary differences are the screen sizes and the keypad. The build quality of both the phones are classy too and if a few thousand bucks is not a concern for you and then we are sure you are still confused about these two models.

To make things easier for you, all we can say is that if you are someone for whom texting, mailing and daily tasks hold a priority in your schedule, then go for the Q10. you will love its smooth keypad and amazing display. you will get a new generation smartphone with the classic appeal and styling. But if style, multimedia and looks are your order of the day, then Z10 would be the better choice. So there, we have said it. now go, splurge!

H E A DH E A D

T O

1

3

2 1. ScREEnThe Hd AMoLEd

screen on the Z10 supports a higher resolution and dpi

than the Q10

2. baTTERYThe BlackBerry

Q10 gets off to a good start with a

2,100mAh battery (300mAh more than the Z10)

3. qWERTYThe ergonomically designed physical keyboard makes typing a lot more

easier

reviews

GPLUS JUN 21 - JUN 28, 2013 20

SUDOKU

YOUR WEEKLY DOSE OF

“I was married 3 times” explained the man to a newly discovered drinking partner, “and I’ll

never marry again. My first 2 wives died of eat-ing poison mushrooms and my 3rd wife died

of a fractured skull.” “That’s a shame.” said his friend , “How did it happen?” “She wouldn’t eat

the mushrooms!”

A man was driving up a steep and narrow mountain road. A woman was driving down

the same road. As they passed each other, the woman leaned out the window and yelled, “Pig!” The man immediately leaned out his

window and replied, “Moron!” They continue on their way and as the man rounded the next corner, he crashes into a pig in the middle of

the road.

A man being mugged by two thugs put up a tremendous fight! Finally, the thugs subdued him and took his wallet. Upon finding only ten rupees in the wallet, the surprised thug said “Why did you put up such a fight?” To

which the man promptly replied “I was afraid that you would find the `500 hidden in my

shoe!”

JUSTFORLAUGHS

TIMEPASSAquArIuSYou may be a volunteer, however you define work, though, you have been dealing with Saturn in Scorpio since late 2012 and it has given you a hard-ball serve you could have done without! The good news is, things are slowly on the turn.PISCESJupiter rewards effort, so the more you planted in 2012 the bet-ter. There may also be rewards for energy you poured into the opening months of this year. This cycle often gives basic tit-for-tat outcomes.ArIESDon’t be tempted to assume anything is final or fixed, even though you know there will be news, discussions or paperwork. Mercury is a retrograde shadow and it may not be until early August that it’s all on track – still, stay positive. You will be happy in the end. TAuruS Make no mistake – your way with the written or spoken word is going to pay dividends and take you higher and further than you imagined. The clues are there right now as the inner planets start to trickle into Cancer.GEMINIYou will have ‘news’ that isn’t actually the final story. It will involve your money, business interests, house, flat, charity or possessions. From June 25th when Jupiter changes signs, you will see just how enormous the solution or opportunity might be.CANCErThe matter you have been deliberately covering up could work out wonderfully well. Alternatively, this is about your inner space – your navel-gazing side. Jupiter brings the biggest and the best, usually with a thunderbolt, so welcome it with open arms. LEOThe more you deliberately and consciously put time, effort and energy into a group or team, the bigger the reward. Friends also

have something special for you. There is also an element of alter-native living. You could never call this situation real or regular, on any level.VIrGOThe interesting thing about your horoscope, and probably the rea-son you are reading it, is simple – the man or woman who pushes all your emotional and psychological buttons is at the heart of a major shift. It will feel like a tidal change, because the situation is already so aquatic in nature. You tread water, swim, surf and cruise with this person. You must scope out some kind of shape or else it’s all too easy to drift. LIbrAWhat we have here is a sea change. Everything is an experiment and an escape. As long as you keep tabs on that, it will work for you. It’s rather like surfing at sunset. You leave normality and real-ity far behind you as you paddle out, and enter another glittering realm. SCOrPIOYou’ve got an appointment with the frontier. You’re primed to perform experiments at the edge of your understanding. Great mysteries will be tempting you to come closer and lost secrets will be teasing you with juicy clues. As you explore and tinker with the unknown, you might also want to meditate this week.SAGITTArIuSAs the moon revolves around the Earth, it always keeps one side turned away from our view. Isn’t that amazing and eerie? The second most important heavenly body is half-hidden. There is an analogous phenomenon in your inner world, Sagittarius: a part of you that forever conceals some of its true nature. CAPrICOrNThings have been fairly quiet on the professional front and they’ll stay quiet until new doors open on the career front next month. You’ll be able to gain some real leverage on the income front.

CROSSWORDHOROSCOPE

fun


Eat it up SkinBananas: -1 dozen – `50

Enjoyed in various forms, bananas are eaten raw, accompanied with desserts and much more. They offer some great health benefits. Banana is a fruit that contains high amount of potassium and low levels of salt. This combination helps to regulate the blood pres-sure. It reduces the risk of heart related diseases. The potassium content in bananas is good for the health of your bones. Eating bananas on a regular basis can prevent your bones from deteriorating. Consuming bananas can also neutralize the amount of sodium in your body, which ultimately saves cal-cium to get washed out from your body.

apple: 1 kilogram – `180An apple won’t replace your toothbrush, but biting and chewing an apple stimulates

the production of saliva in your mouth, reducing tooth decay by lowering the levels of bacteria.Drinking apple juice could keep Alzheimer’s away and fight the effects of aging on the brain. The soluble fiber found in apples binds with fats in the intestine, which

translates into lower cholesterol levels and a healthier you.

Mango: 1 kilogram – `50“The king of the fruits,” mango is one of the most popular, nutritionally rich

fruit with unique flavour, fragrance, taste, and heath promoting quali-ties. Mango is rich in pre-biotic dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and poly-phenolic flavonoid antioxidant compounds. It is an excellent source of Vitamin-A and flavonoids like beta-carotene, alpha-carotene-a n d so on.

pear: 1 kilogram – `130Pears provide a very good source of fibre and are also a good source of vitamin B2, C, E, copper,

and potassium. They also contain a significant amount of pectin, which is a water soluble fiber.Pears are actually higher in pectin than apples. This makes them effective in helping to lower cholesterol levels and in toning the intestines. They are often recommended by health care prac-titioners as a hypoallergenic fruit that is high in fiber

Watermelon: 1 kilogram – `30Watermelons are an excellent source of several vitamins: vitamin A, which

helps maintain eye health and is an antioxidant; vitamin C, which helps strengthen immunity, heal wounds, prevent cell damage, and promote healthy teeth and gums; and vitamin B6, which helps brain function and helps convert protein to energy.Watermelon also contains the amino acids ci-trulline and arginine, which can help maintain arteries, blood flow and overall

cardiovascular function.

plum: 1 kilogram – `100Plums, even their dried form known as ‘prunes’, are high in unique phyto-

nutrients called neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acid. Their function is that of an antioxidant and is of much benefit to the body.Since plums are rich in antioxidants, they provide protection from superoxide anion radical and also

prevent damage to our neurons and fats that form a part of our cell membranes.Consumption of plums helps in the production and absorption of iron in

the body, thus leading to better blood circulation, which further leads t o the growth of healthy tissues.

Blackberry: 1 kilogram – `60One cup of fresh blackberries has 62 calories, 1 gram of fat, 15 carbohydrates, 8 grams

of fiber, 2 grams of protein and only 1 mg of sodium. Blackberries are one of the top ten foods containing antioxidants. Blackberries are packed with polyphenols helping to prevent cancer and heart disease. Blackberries are filled with anthocyanins (antioxidants which give blackberries their deep purple colour) which help in memory retention and the risk of hypertension.

Jackfruit: 1 piece – `50 (approx)Unique for its size, delicious jackfruit is rich in energy, dietary fiber, minerals,

and vitamins. Just like other common tropical fruits such as durian, banana, etc., the fruit is also known for its high calories and sweet taste. Nevertheless, it con-tains no saturated fats or cholesterol, making it one of the healthy fruits to relish. 100 g of edible jackfruit bulbs provide 95 calories.

Eat it upA ‘Boil’ is a

c o m m o n c o n d i t i o n

of the skin occur-ring mostly during

summer months and can be quite annoying

to the patient, especially if recurrent. A boil, also

called a ‘Furuncle’, is a bacterial infection of the hair follicles (root of

the hair) as well as the surrounding structures, resulting in painful swollen area on the skin with the accumulation of pus and dead tissue. Infection is mainly caused by the bacte-ria ‘Staphylococcus aureus’, although other types of bacteria may also be involved.

Boils are painful, bumpy, red, pus-filled lumps that can occur on any hair-bearing area of the body. A white or yel-low point can be seen at the centre of the lump when the boil is ready to discharge pus. Infection is usually localised, but can spread to other sites depending on the patient’s immu-nity. Special caution has to be taken in certain sites like the peri-oral area (around the mouth) which is called the ‘Dan-gerous area of the face’ as there is a possibility of spread of infection to the brain. Predisposing factors for boils include poor hygiene, a hot & humid climate, malnutrition, diabe-tes, obesity, patients on immunosuppressive drugs and with underlying malignancy (cancer). In some patients the bac-teria remain as chronic carriers mainly inside the nostrils and in the peri-anal (around the anus) area causing recur-rent infection.

Boils, if left untreated, can cause complications which can have serious consequences. ‘Cellulitis’ is an infection of the deeper layers of the skin and the underlying fat causing se-vere damage ultimately leading to scarring. ‘Septicaemia’ which refers to the spread of infection via the blood stream is a life threatening condition as it can involve the vital structures of the body like the brain, the lungs and the heart.

Boils, however small, have to be treated as early as possible to prevent complications. Large sized boils with severe pain and fluctuation need to be incised to facilitate drainage of pus. In case of smaller sized boils, drainage can be encour-aged by application of hot fomentation with warm saline wa-ter. Antibiotics remain the mainstay of treatment. A correct choice of antibiotic is very much essential since antibiotic resistance is very common now-a-days. Wherever possible, a bacterial ‘Culture & sensitivity’ test need to be performed to find out the antibiotics to which the bacteria is sensitive. Re-infection can occur from contact with infected family members. Hence, it becomes advisable to treat household contacts if recurrence occurs. Locally applied antibiotics also have a role to play in reducing the bacterial flora caus-ing infection.

Maintenance of personal hygiene and proper health education regarding this is very much essential in prevent-ing the occurrence of boils. It was reported in a study that proper hand and body washing with antimicrobial soap de-creases colonization by the offending bacteria. Correction of co-existing anaemia and malnutrition is a healthy step towards improving the patient’s resistance to fight these pathogens. Indiscriminate and over-the-counter use of an-tibiotics should be discouraged as this is an important factor in the development of drug resistance. Weight reduction and proper control of blood sugar level are also important meas-ures in preventing recurrence of this common infection.

CAREBoils and furuncles

dr. Anal Jyoti bordoloiconsultant dermatologist,Guwahati

food & health

GPLUS JUN 21 - JUN 28, 2013 22

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Sometimes,

All you need is to just

change your point of view, to value what

you have

for the love of the city


List of LPG Agencies in Guwahati

aTc gaS agEncY Paltan Bazaar, G.S. Road , Guwahati – 781008Phone No – 0361-2517114

aMiT gaS agEncYDurgabari Kalibari Road, Guwahati – 781015Phone No – 94350-17865

bHaSkaR gaS agEncY Rehabari, Guwahati – 781008 Phone No – 98645-01022, 98540-49351

bLooMY gaS agEncY (bcPL)Chandrapur, Guwahati – 781050Phone No – 0361-2785333

bLUEFLaME agEnciESRGB Road, Sundarpur, Guwahati – 781005Phone No – 0361-2202412, 0361-2201011

ciTY gaS SERVicEBeltola, Guwahati – 781028Phone No – 0361-2306394

DiPak HP gaS SERVicEFatashil Ambari, Guwahati – 781025Phone No – 0361-2490975

DEEPJYoTi gaS agEncYAnanda Nagar, Pandu, Guwahati – 781012Phone No – 0361-2570952

DiPTi gaS agEncYKahilipara, Guwahati – 781018Phone No – 0361-2383018

g.S. gaS agEnciESMangalaramTower,1stFloor,A.T.Road,Guwahati- 781008Phone No – 94350-56561

gREEn HiLL gaS agEncYGc, Crpf, Khanapar, Amerigog,Guwahati – 781023Phone No – 2899628

n F RaiLWaY EMP conS cooPERaTiVE Central Gotanagar,Maligaon,Assam, Maligaon, Guwahati – 781012Phone No - 0361-2570643

HangSa gaS agEncYGaneshguri Chariali, Guwahati – 781006Phone No – 0361-2593718

inLanD WaTERWaYS aUTHoRiTY oF inDia RE-gionaL oFFicE5th Floor, Parameshwari Building ChattribariGuwahati – 781001Phone No – 0361- 2605807, 0361- 541081

JYoTi gaS agEncYMC Road, Uzanbazar, Guwahati – 781001Phone No – 0361-2548628, 92071-57983

kESHab inDanE agEncYPatharquary, VIP Road, Guwahati – 781024Phone No – 0361-2642786

nabaJYoTi gaS agEncYHatigaon, Dispur, Guwahati – 781006Phone No – 0361- 2411176, 99571-95965

naVaDEEP inDanE agEncYMaligaon, Guwahati – 781011Phone No – 0361-2571546

i.o.c. gaS oVEn DiViSionNoonmati, Bamunimaidam, Guwahati – 781021Phone No – 0361-2610283

PinakSHi gaS SERVicEChandmari, Guwahati – 781003Phone No – 0361-2131131

PaDMaJa gaS agEncYG.S. Road, Lachit Nagar, Guwahati – 781007Phone No – 0361-2462493

PiPELinERS co-oPERaTiVE SociETYOil India Limited, Narengi, Guwahati – 781003Phone No – 98640-50043

PRagJYoTiSH gaS SERVicESarumataria, Dispur, Guwahati – 781006Phone No – 0361-2269241, 0361-2235313

PRaHaRi inDanE, aZaRaPatgaon Bsf Campus, Airport Road, Po - Azra,Azara, GuwahatiPhone No - 0361-2840306

PRaTiMa bHaRaT gaS agEncYDhirenParaTila,Dhrenpara,Guwahati – 781025Phone No – 0361-2470124, 2470144

PRiYaM gaS agEncYNorth Guwahati, Guwahati - 781030Phone No – 0361-2690120

P.S. gaS agEncYHatigaon, Guwahati – 781038Phone No – 98540-57579

R.k.gaS aPPLiancESKamarpatty, Masjid Lane, Fancy Bazar, Guwahati -781001Phone No – 0361-2513471

SanDHan gaS agEncYChatribari, Guwahati – 781008Phone No – 98642-18421

SHankaRDEV gaS agEncYSixmile, Guwahati – 781022Phone No – 0361-2333678, 0361-2330130

SHYaMa gaS agEncYNoonmati, guwahati – 781020Phone No – 0361-2550058

SikHa Bharalumukh, guwahati – 781009Phone No – 0361-2546333

SHiVaM gaS agEncYMaligaon, gate No – 1, Guwahati – 781011Phone No – 0361-2570698, 98647-96061

STaTFED SiLPUkHURi inDanE gaS agEncYSilpukhuri, Guwahati – 781003, Phone No – 0361- 2133035, 0361-2133031

STaTFED SiLPUkHURi inDanE gaS agEncYNr Little Flower School, Bishnujyotipath,Hatigaon, Guwahati – 781038Phone No – 0361-2595313

TEcHnicoFC Road, Uzanbazar, Guwahati – 781001Phone No – 0361-2133118, 0361-2631816

Listed below are some of the major LPG Agencies of Guwahati city. GPlus will keep on publishing such relevant and useful information in this page in the coming issues.

Citypedia

GPLUS JUN 21 - JUN 28, 2013 24

VLaDiMiR PUTin’S DiVoRcEFRoM HiS WiFE

2013 fIfAconfederations cup

‘KAMUr’ oF THE WEEK!WHAT DID I JUST HEArCaMpaign poSterS for the GMC Elections plastered all over the city. It would be a great way for the elected members to start their stint by cleaning up those first.

Headlining acts!

PICK oF THE WEEK!Postal stamp on bHUPEn HaZaRika

gRabbing HEaDLinES bEcaUSEThe ninth FIFA Con-federations Cup is an international association football tournament being held in Brazil in 2013, as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The tournament will be held from 15 to 30 June 2013. Brazil are the defending champi-ons. As the competition partially overlaps with the fourth round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in the Asian zone, the Asian Football Confederation(AFC) asked FIFA to consider a change of date. However, the AFC decided that the match day will be adjusted only for Japan, the sole representative of AFC for the Confedera-tions Cup.

goLDEn cHancEUruguay, Italy and Spain will have the prospect to become the third team after Argentina and France to win all three major FIFA tourna-ments – the World Cup, the Olympic football competition and the Confederations Cup.

BJP – JD (U) break-up

Erin Brady

THE bETRaYaL Is it BJP who ditched and broke Bi-

har hero Nitish Kumar’s heart by crown-ing party poster boy Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate? Or was it JD(U)’s volte face from its 17 years old commitment to walk the ups and downs of life with the saffron party? Whatever may be the reason, JD(U)’s parting of ways with the BJP-led NDA after the 17-year partnership can be described as a ‘black chapter’ in the political history of Bihar in a long time.

THE WinnERSAs people say that everything is fair

in love, war and politics, the patch-up between different political parties after the BJP – JD(U) split is a wait-and-watch matter. But the vibes coming from politicos like Mamata Banerjee, Navin Patnaik and even the silent Manmohan Singh feels like they will gain a lot from this split. The formation of the third front is also an issue but Congress, BJD andTMCseemtobeinaNitishwooingmission by overusing the word secular to outline JD(U)’s ideology.

WHo’S THaT giRL?Fifty-one of the USA’s

loveliest ladies assem-bled in Las Vegas on June

16 for the2013 Miss USA Competition, igniting a competition of beauty, brains - and, of course, bikinis! It was a night of thrills and surprises – Erin Brady (Miss Connecticut) ended up taking home the crown.

WHaT a LiFE?Brady gets the crown and a New York apartment for one year. She is expected to spend her title reign on a nation-wide speaking tour and raising breast and ovarian

cancer awareness.

of nearly 30 years has broken a taboo for Russian officials, who almost never speak publicly about their personal life, let alone their personal prob-lems. The Russian president also chose an unusual way to break the news. In an interview with state television late Thursday, he and his wife, Lyudmila Putina, engaged in polite chit-chat about a ballet they had just watched and then dropped the bombshell, saying they haven’t lived together for a while and are getting a divorce

AssamCMTarunGogoisaidlast week that the amount of

garbage in the city is a sign of development. He even

cited the example of the USA regarding this!

Printed & published by Insight Media (A division of Insight Brandcom Pvt. Ltd.) 34, KC Choudhury Road, Chatribari, Guwahati 781008, Assam. 0361 2737737. Editor – Koushik Hazarika.

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