Cracker ban: Letters To The Editor

Cracker ban

The National Green Tribunal's (NGT) ban on the sale or use of firecrackers in the National Capital Region till November 30 has literally come as a gasp of breath. This is a very good decision to avoid air pollution, particularly during the time of COVID-19 pandemic. But the intimation could have been given at least a month before Diwali. Many small shopkeepers have already bought crackers from factories for selling. Retailers were already incurring losses due to the lockdown. The NGT has observed that celebration by crackers is for happiness and not to celebrate deaths and diseases. Since Diwali is one of the biggest festivals in India, strategic planning should have been done in the past months.

Chandan Kumar Nath,

Sorbhog.

Poor condition of a road

There's a place under NH-37 Kamrup Rural district called Bijoynagar, which is quite popular for the locals. The condition of the road is very bad right now. A large part of the road is badly broken and due to this people have been facing lots of problems. The vehicles and their passengers are having much trouble because of this condition. The road is a bit smaller in size than other highways in such a way that the breakdown of the road is bothering people more. Because of this condition, the possibilities of accidents have increased. Students have to travel through this road and because of the road condition, the vehicles have to slow down their speed and this causes the vehicles to get jammed. Therefore, I request the government authorities to take action and repair the road as early as possible.

Priyanka Nath,

Mirza.

Financial assistance for disaster relief

The Central government has announced significant support for the States affected by the disaster on November 13. The High-Level Committee (HLC) under the Chairmanship of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah has approved additional Central assistance of Rs 4,381.88 crore under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to six States, which were affected by the cyclone, floods, and landslides during this year. In addition, the Central Government has released Rs 15,524.43 crore to 28 States from the SDRF. Hope that the States concerned will bring help in moving the rehabilitation work forward.

Amit Singh Kushwaha,

Satna (M.P.)

Everyone must be careful during winter

Many people in our State feel that the effects of COVID-19 have waned due to the winter season. It is, of course, a common misconception and regret that most of the employees of the State Health Department have also violated the COVID-19 protocols. As a health worker, I urge every person in Assam to follow the COVID-19 protocols by thinking about the future of themselves and our society. Especially avoiding large public gatherings and maintaining reasonable distance from one another in public places is the key in staying protected from SARS-Cov-2 infection. It has now been established that apart from droplets, this can be spread through air within 6 feet distance, if one is not careful enough with protection.

Meanwhile, the Director of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr. Rajni Kant has also warned that winter season is favourable for all viruses and people would have to be very careful to prevent spread of the disease. So the government should enact strict laws against those who violate the COVID-19 protocols in view of the dire situation that may arise in the future.

Heramba Nath,

Kamrup (Rural)

Income tax

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman declared a few days back that there will be reform in tax system of India.

In this context I would like to request Prime Minister and Finance Minister kindly to reform the present income tax of pensioners of government and semi-government retired employees.

At present the retired employees have to pay income tax on the interest accrued on pension in savings account. The employees get a mere amount of pension by rendering service to public for the whole spell of their life. As such, the interest accrued on pension amount should not come under purview of income.

I would therefore like to request the government to look into the matter sympathetically so that employees' interest on pension amount does not come under purview of income tax and accordingly a bill may be placed in coming budget session.

Putul Sarma,

Biswanath Chariali.