Letters to THE EDITOR

Bullying

Nalbari district is one of the popular districts of Assam and a birthplace of many renowned scholars. It has been observed that now local (town/rural) roads are proper everywhere. But in some parts of this district the administration needs to take some actions. I especially request the Deputy Commissioner to take action on Bogols Road which connects to Kalag Barbhag. While stepping on the road it has been observed that shop owners have occupied half of the road. This apart, the local people gossiping there are not well behaving ones who use slang words to tourists. This may ruin the tourism prospects of the district.

Also I would like to request the district administration to take necessary action in Bullut (Hajo-Nalbari Road). The traffic management on the road is not at all satisfactory. The width of Bullut Bridge is occupied mostly by road-side vendors. To add to the woes, the public use it as parking lot.

Hrishikesh Sarma,

Guwahati.

Hardcore regionalism

The seed of regionalism was sown some 40-45 years ago in Assam. The sentiment of step-motherly treatment to Assam was highlighted by the AASU (All Assam Students' Union) and the Axam Xahitya Xabha (AXX). Slowly, the feeling of regionalism entered the veins of people and later on transformed into hardcore regionalism. Due to strong regional feeling, a non-entity and misfit Prafulla Kumar Mahanta from the AASU rode his luck and assumed the Chief Minister's post, and the rest is history. As the father of the AGP, the AASU imbibed the culture of agitation, dharnas, Assam bandhs, road blockades, etc among the indigenous people and as a result work culture has been buried thousand feet under the soil. In the meantime, our agricultural land and markets have been captured by illegal foreigners from Bangladesh. The industries and factories (trade and commerce) have gone directly under the non Assamese people. The indigenous young generation who cultivated the habit of earning easy money (though the percentage has gone down significantly) was happy collecting chanda (donation) from the business class. The political right of the locals in lower Assam was lost as illegal foreigners (thanks to Congress and AGP for providing them with all the necessary legal documents) outnumbered the original inhabitants. In certain constituencies like Chenga, Baghbor, Dhing, Jonia, Lahorighat, Jamunamukh, Sarukhetri, etc, the likes of Das, Deka, Bhuyan, Saikia, Barman, Kalita, Chaliha, Sarma cannot win unless and until he/she licks their foot. The AASU, which claims itself to be the guardian of us, never highlighted the real issues before the public. They were only busy criticizing the respective Central governments through false propaganda. The things have come to such a pass in the AASU that many 'purba bongo Musalmans' are holding important portfolios in their central committee. The present set of secretary and president of the AASU will have to think hundred times before saying anything about the illegal foreigners. The new baby in politics, Lurinjyoti Gogoi, is already out in the field to appease the particular religious linguistic community. This is the unfortunate outcome of hardcore anchalikatabad.

Julie Bhuyan,

Gaurisagar.

Incompetent APSC

It has been weeks since the APSC CCE (Main) 2018 results were declared. Even after declaration of results, the APSC has not notified the date of CCE prelims 2020, despite releasing notification on 8th September, 2019.

Why is this delay taking place? Why is so much unprofessionalism from the APSC authority? We saw a ray of hope when Pallab Bhattacharya joined as the chairman but we feel hopeless now. We are getting older and frustrated because they are not conducting a simple exam. Why is so much carelessness? Why are they playing with our careers? The APSC says that they will follow the UPSC, but they can't even be little close to the UPSC with such a unprofessional behaviour and incompetency to conduct a simple prelims exam. This is not at all expected from a constitutional authority.

Prabhash Gautam,

Guwahati.

Preservation of heritage buildings

Effective preservation of heritage buildings not only helps in preserving and safeguarding our resources but also in revitalizing local economies, supporting the tourism industry and in bringing about a sense of identity, pride and belonging to the people. The level of understanding of this fact must be high which, quite sadly, still remains low.

Appreciation of the value of heritage buildings with the realization that once they are destroyed, there is no way to save or to renovate them is the first step to preserve them. Conservation guidelines of heritage buildings need to be developed. Researches on the preservation of the same that may lead to concrete steps should be conducted. The needed degree of technical expertise in repairing and maintenance of heritage buildings should get top priority. Also, proper legal framework should be devised and laws to preserve the heritage buildings should be strictly implemented. Adequate measures should be taken to keep factories and other polluters away from such buildings. Educational institutions can set up heritage clubs to educate the community through awareness campaign and thus make every individual realize the need to preserve heritage buildings. Last but not the least, participation of the local population in the process must be encouraged.

Dipen Gogoi

Teok, Jorhat.

Vocal for local

The mantra 'vocal for local' coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the lockdown to boost the economy of the nation is yielding results. In the political arena of the State the likes of Arup Borbora, Shringkol Chaliha, Kamal Medhi, Ajit Bhuyan, Kamal Narayan Choudhury, Lurinjyoti Gogoi and Adip Phukan have taken a strong note of the appeal of the Prime Minister. The above mentioned gentlemen who are part of the two newly floated regional parties are becoming very vocal for the local issues with the advent of the State Assembly Elections. I wish them well.

Lanu Dutta Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

Create new jobs for Divyangs

It is welcome to note that the Union Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has notified 3,566 posts in Central government establishments as suitable for persons with benchmark disabilities under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. These posts include 1046 in Group A, 515 in Group B, 1724 in Group C, and 281 in Group D posts. Posts have also been identified suitable for new categories of persons with disabilities such as dwarfism, acid attack victims, muscular dystrophy, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual impairment, specific learning disability, mental illness, and multiple disabilities have been added. This list is not an exhaustive one and Central Ministries/Department/Autonomous Bodies and Public Sector Undertakings may further supplement. The notification will broaden the scope of employment for persons with benchmark disabilities in Government establishments. The Government authorities should fulfil all backlog posts and create new jobs as per notification. The need of the hour is to empower the Divyangjan by ensuring their full participation in society.

Amit Singh Kushwaha,

Satna (M.P.)

SC's decision

When delayed and biased Court proceedings have almost become the hallmark of the present day judicial system in the country, the Supreme Court in its hearing on farmers' protest has come up with a human heart, showing great concern about the safety and wellbeing of the protesting farmers and asking the Government to put on hold the implementation of the three farm laws or the Court will do it. It is rightly pointed by the SC that it is better to constitute a high-level committee to listen to the grievances of the agitating farmers.

Chandan Kumar Nath

Sorbhog.

Reconstitute PMNRF

Prime Minister National Relief Fund (PMNRF) was constituted by the first Prime Minister on India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1948 when the Congress was the only dominating political party. The PMNRF therefore had Congress president as a permanent member of the six-member committee. But with subsequent changes in the political system, the BJP has replaced the Congress as strong ruling party not only at the Centre but also in many States. It becomes a practical necessity that constitution of the PMNRF committee may be suitably revised so that the Congress president may be replaced by the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The PMNRF also has one of its committee-members as Deputy Prime Minister, a post not necessarily being always existing. Therefore, the PMNRF constitution should be to have a Union Minister nominated by the PMNRF Chairperson who happens to be the Prime Minister.

A representative from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) already exists in the original PMNRF committee. But the original PMNRF constitution had a permanent nominee from Tata Trustees because Tatas were the leading-most industrial giant in the country at that time. To be fair to each industrial group and to get added contribution to the PMNRF, the sixth seat for some particular industrial group should be decided through auction or tender every year whereby the industrial group offering maximum contribution may become sixth committee member of the PMNRF.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal,

Delhi.

Empowering youths

The Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has launched the third phase of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana in 600 districts across all States of India. This phase will focus on new-age and COVID-related skills with envisaged training of eight lakh candidates over a scheme period of 2020-2021 with an outlay of Rs. 948.90 crore. The Ministry has improved the newer version of the scheme to match the current policy doctrine and energize the skilling ecosystem affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a laudable move towards empowering the youths and making India a self-sustaining nation. Hope that all Government agencies should implement the scheme at the grassroots level and ensure good quality training programmes by creating new employment opportunities.

Amit Singh Kushwaha,

Satna (M.P.)

WHO's expert team

Finally, the Chinese government has approved a visit to China by a team of the World Health Organization (WHO) researchers on the coronavirus, and China is ready to welcome the team. A team of WHO experts is looking to China to gather scientific data and conduct research on when and how coronavirus was infected. However, they were the first to report that the coronavirus or COVID-19 was transmitted to the human body. The first human case of COVID-19 or coronavirus infection was reported in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan. To date, experts have speculated that the coronavirus was first transmitted from wildlife to humans. But the question remains — did this new virus spread from the wild to the human body? Did this lethal virus spread from the animal to the human body? If it really came from a wild animal, then what was that wild animal or species? Virus experts and scientists need to have this kind of complete information. The exact source of the virus can only be determined by obtaining accurate information about the species or animals from which the coronavirus was transmitted to the human body. Once the source is identified, experts will be able to study the nature or character of the virus. Once the area from which the virus was first transmitted to the human body can be identified, measures can be taken to ensure that the lethal virus does not re-emerge. If the source of the virus is not identified, it may not be possible to develop necessary vaccines to prevent it or to prevent it from occurring in the future. Recently, it has been revealed that a vaccine that has been invented as a matter of urgency can prevent the transmission of the virus in the body for a few months or even a year. Even vaccines are feared by medical scientists to be losing the ability to kill or infect new species of the virus. It is safe to say that in the future, newer and more effective vaccines may be needed for new viruses. The World Health Organization seeks to end this problem. Knowing the corona clearly will enable the human race to destroy or prevent it in the future. China's cooperation and assistance in this scientific research is absolutely necessary. Surely every citizen of the world wants it.

Heramba Nath,

Kamrup.

Privacy in social media

We are so much into Social Media that we are forgetting that the Social Media which is becoming our daily necessity is actually an open window for the hackers. They can easily hack our accounts in seconds and make our lives like hell. Just yesterday I got a message saying that "Your WhatsApp account has been hacked, congrats." The contact info bar was showing the name as Daniel. And the number seemed to be a foreign number starting with +1. What I want to ask is that instead of social media platforms assuring us full safety and privacy, are we really secured and safe? Or are we just putting our privacy at risk? Is there a way to keep the accounts hack-proof? Or are we just getting fooled? Is someone keeping an eye on us? In future will the advancement of technology improve the privacy features? I don't know if I was just pranked or it was really hacked but the fear is nothing less than a nightmare. All I want to say is we can minimize the usage of social media and stop making our posts public, and if we have a strong password, we can be safe on social media platforms. Or we will end up in depression.

Neha Singh,

Guwahati

Accused CBI officials

CBI officials who have been booked for graft by the central probe agency were not only receiving regular kickbacks, but also acting as conduits to bribe their peers on behalf of companies accused of siphoning off crores of public money from banks, the FIR lodged against them alleged. It is a serious matter. The government and public should voice against corruption, besides putting an end to it.

Putul Sarma,

Biswanath Chariali.

Killing of deer for meat

Through the reputed columns of your newspaper we would like to bring to the notice of the officer-in-charge of the Digboi Police Station (OC Digboi Police Station), the Divisional Forest Officer Digboi ( DFO Digboi), the Principal Chief Conservator and head of forest force Assam and the authorities concerned that deer are being killed secretly in the Dehing reserve adjoining the number 2 Panbari village of Digboi, the number 1 Panbari village of Digboi and the Dehing reserve adjoining the Bhim Pathar High, ME and LP schools of Digboi by local poachers. The meat is then being sold secretly to local buyers. Guards and employees of the forest department posted in the Panbari and Bhim Pathar areas of Digboi might also be parties in this trade with these local poachers. During this festive season of the New Year and Magh Bighu these killings have increased. This is a serious offence punishable under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Through the columns of your reputed daily we would like to request the Assam Forest department and the Digboi police to sincerely and seriously deal with the growing trade of deer meat in the Panbari and Bhim Pathar areas of Digboi. We would also like to draw the attention of the NGOs working for the protection of wildlife to come forward and work for the protection of these innocent beautiful animals in the Dehing reserve adjoining the number 2 Panbari village of Digboi, the number 1 Panbari village of Digboi and the Dehing reserve adjoining the Bhim Pathar High, ME and LP schools of Digboi and to keep an eye on the activities going on in these areas because the police and Forest department cannot be trusted completely because in the past many forest and police officials have been caught as being part of such poaching rackets. We request every person purchasing meat of wild animals to stop it. Purchasing meat of wild animals is also an offence punishable under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Please come forward to save these innocent wild animals in the Dehing reserve adjoining the number 2 Panbari village of Digboi, the number 1 Panbari village of Digboi and the Dehing reserve adjoining the Bhim Pathar High, ME and LP schools of Digboi before it is too late.

A Group of residents,

Digboi

Action necessary against WhatsApp or Facebook

It refers to media reports about Delhi High Court judge recusing from hearing a case against WhatsApp and Facebook after receiving an email on behalf of WhatsApp or Facebook for not hearing the case. Since lawyers appearing for WhatsApp and Facebook confirmed that the email was being withdrawn unconditionally, it is established that WhatsApp and Facebook are guilty of disrupting judicial process of India. The matter should be taken seriously both by Chief Justices of Delhi and India apart from Government of India.

Such unwarranted emails ideally must not disturb the judge to the extent of recusing from hearing the case. However, it is good that the judge put reason for recusal on record, and should be made a practice for all judges recusing from hearing the cases in future naming also those who may be disrupting the judicial process by approaching the judge.

The Union government should also make study of new privacy-related policy of WhatsApp and Facebook, and if these are against public-interest, then Union government should take up the matter with WhatsApp and Facebook directly.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal,

Delhi.

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