Is NDA caretaker of indigenous people of Assam?: Letters to The Editor

Is NDA caretaker of indigenous people of Assam?

AGP president Atul Bora recently said that the NDA would retain power in Assam. What fate is in store for the NDA will be known on May 2, 2021. However, the NDA is not a favourite alliance for the indigenous people of Assam. It is because the NDA government has supported the Citizenship (Amendment) Act against the wishes of the indigenous people. The indigenous people are dead against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act considering it a burden for them. To extract political support from the indigenous people in Assam, political parties will have to work for people's interest.

Maheswar Deka,

Rangia.

COVID and mental

health problems

According to the World Health Organization, 7.5 per cent of Indians have mental health problems. About 56 million of them suffer from depression and 38 million from anxiety disorders. In addition, during the COVID pandemic, people from all over the country were confined to their homes for long periods of time. Although, COVID is currently in its second wave, there is no strict obligation to lockdown. However, its effects are still felt in the minds of some people. Psychiatrists say that because of these, some special psychological problems still plague people. For example, the prevalence of drinking among some people has increased significantly. Adults with dementia and Alzheimer's disease are more likely. The number of such patients is steadily increasing. According to medical experts, suicidal thoughts are also more prevalent in many minds. According to a study by Indian psychiatrists, COVID-environment has led to a 20 per cent increase in mental illness.

In general, loneliness in urban life is on the rise. The level of isolation in Western life is even higher. COVID-19 pandemic time constraints made our villages more isolated. Many students are facing mental problems due to sudden deprivation of classmates and teacher supervision at the beginning of online education. That emotional turmoil is still more or less present among some of them. Therefore, there is a need for the appointment of experienced experts and counsellors who can provide early psychological counselling in educational institutions to alleviate their problems. Experts around the world fear that by the time the COVID curve is flattened, its combined effects may do much damage.

Heramba Nath,

Kamrup.

COVID culprits

COVID-19 positive cases are increasing at an alarming rate. There are culprits who are responsible for it. We're responsible for not adhering to COVID-appropriate behaviour. Those who come next are shopkeepers. They have thrown the protocol to the winds and left the customers to fend for themselves. Unlike, last year, there is no temperature check at the entrance, no restriction on the number of customers inside a shop, and no sanitization. The third is the administration which loosened its control. People must not forget the hardships faced by them and the losses suffered during the previous lockdown. The administration needs to implement the COVID norms with an iron hand and people must cooperate.

Chandan Kumar Nath,

Sorbhog.

Forgetting our own culture

Through your esteemed daily, I would like to bring the attention of the local people that in the days of technology, we the people of Assam have forgotten our own culture. Though it is bitter but it is true that most of us and also our upcoming generations are mostly attracted towards different cultures rather than our own. It is my humble request to the parents to make their children respect their own culture.

Niharika Krishnatri,

Guwahati.

Pleasure trip?

A pleasure trip is important for those who have been working under massive mental and physical stress for a long time. The contestants of the AIUDF took a pleasure trip to the State of Rajasthan after they bitterly fought in the Assembly polls in Assam. Rajasthan is a State known for its hospitality for such pleasure seekers. Being a layman I fail to understand why the pleasure trip of those contestants from the AIUDF and the Congress are branded by a section 'to avoid horse-trading'? Are these contestants purchasable commodities like a 'horse' which can be owned by a person/group for a price? Now who are floating such new terms about their pleasure trip is for anybody's guess. Who knows post May 2, these bunch of contestants might be out for yet another 'pleasure trip', if the situation demands. The auction behind the closed doors can't be ruled out unlike the auction of the horses which are usually done openly.

Joel Goyari,

Tangla.

Another epidemic

Assam is in the grip of another epidemic which is unheard but slowly spreading its tentacles from Sadiya to Dhubri. Electronic and digital media is abuzz with this new epidemic called 'Horse-Trading'. Thankfully, the comfort of the common people is not disturbed by this new form as it has been limited to only politicians. The vaccine against this new form is the need of the hour.

Dr. Ashim Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

Ensure oxygen availability

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid stress on taking effective steps to ensure the supply of oxygen across the country. PM Modi also took a detailed review of the current situation of oxygen supply and projected use in the coming fifteen days across twelve high burden States and suggested increasing oxygen production as per the capacity of each plant. The government has exempted all interstate oxygen tankers from registration to enable their easier movement. The States and transporters have been ensuring tankers' movement round the clock with drivers working in shifts. The government is allowing industrial cylinders to be used for medical oxygen afterward due to purging. State governments need to develop a strong mechanism to ensure oxygen availability in all hospitals as per demand. The lives of serious patients can be saved by providing oxygen timely. This is the need of the hour.

Amit Singh Kushwaha,

Satna (M.P.)

Wrong time for Kumbh Mela

As India is battling rapid spike in corona cases I condemn the Uttar Pradesh government and the Central government for organizing Kumbh Mela without any restrictions. This move can bring catastrophe to the nation. The scene witnessed at the Mela site is bizarre as devotees are openly flouting COVID-19 protocols. Hospitals are running out of beds and doctors and nurses are getting tired but the NDA government is remaining completely blind to it. I am not against any religious function but considering the current situation this time the government should have curtailed the mass gathering and should have only allowed the rituals to be performed. Going by the first day scene at the Kumbh Mela site one can sense that the nation is heading towards a big explosion which would be uncontrollable. At the earliest the administration should curb or restrict any mass gathering.

Julie Bhuyan,

Gaurisagar.

Liquors and new generation

Consumption of intoxicated things is becoming a tradition generation after generation, the effects of which can be deadly. The ban on its selling is a hard nut to crack till date. There are many zones in the city where liquor selling is sold illegally. A number of shops dealing with local liquor have been set up in the residential areas without due approval from the government. For such illegal liquor shops, the new generation has gone astray. So the number of road accidents, murder, domestic violence and such other offensive acts are also increasing in the society. Many youths as well as grownups have died and are dying because of their addiction to different kinds of alcoholic liquors. So, through the column of your esteemed daily I would like to request the Excise Department to kindly look into the matter.

Aranyani Borah,

Guwahati.

Mockery of protocols

If one is keeping tab on the various Bihu functions across the State, there is mockery of COVID-19 protocols. The crowd has behaved most irresponsibly with no masks, social distancing, etc. The sitting arrangements doesn't have minimum gap between the chairs. Already political leaders and the party workers exhibited their callousness in the recently held election and now the Bihu revellers are doing the same. Hope that Bihutolis don't become the coronavirus spreader. Fear is running high in people like me that after another 20 days we will see 'Bohagi Bidaai'. For a section it is time for merry making without responsibility, but the impact is felt by the common people. If drastic steps like full lockdown or partial lockdown or night curfew is forced on us, life may be horrible again.

Manthan Rudra Kashyap,

Boko.

Road accidents in Assam

Every day, there have been road accidents in Assam. The road accidents that have been happening daily in Assam have become a killer of human lives. As such, the government has to take effective measures that would minimize the number of road accidents. While numerous factors account for road accidents in Assam, drunk driving is said to be one of the principal causes. It is necessary to check the menace of drunk driving in Assam. The police should carry out surprise pickets at places to nab offenders, and this would instill fear among the drivers driving various types of motor vehicles.

Maheswar Deka,

Rangia.

Vaccination centres

Through your esteemed daily I would like to draw the attention of the Deputy Commissioner, Morigaon towards the setting up of a few COVID-19 vaccination centres at Nabheti, Jt. Director of Health Service office, near Gandhi Hall considering the far communication to the senior citizens of Morigaon town and its adjoining areas who are coming to take vaccine at Morigaon Civil Hospital and have to line up for hours.

Pranjal Kr. Sharma,

Morigaon.

Action against ECI

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is considered an autonomous body which should take instant action without fear or favour in most emergency and critical conditions. Even if it may be considered that fresh corona wave was not so dangerous at the time of announcement of the on-going elections for five State Assemblies, yet later a dangerous corona wave must have made the ECI to take some concrete steps to fulfil formality of completing elections by holding simultaneous elections for all the remaining constituencies in West Bengal in one single phase thus merging the other remaining phases. The date could be the last polling day on 29.04.2021 giving sufficient time to hold rest of elections on the last phase of polling. Likewise, elections to local bodies in Uttar Pradesh must have been cancelled. Life of people is much important than fulfilling democratic traditions in the country. Frankly speaking, the ECI started making mistakes by holding elections for Maharashtra Legislative Council during peak of the first corona wave perhaps to exhibit its fairness to opposition by ensuring Uddhav Thackrey continue as State Chief Minister who otherwise would have lost entitlement to continue as State Chief Minister. The ECI is also guilty of closing its eyes on massive political rallies and road shows by various parties without any care for much needed social distancing and wearing masks. The ECI must have totally and strictly banned all political rallies and road shows. It is for the Supreme Court to take strict action against the highest degree of irresponsibility of the ECI.

Madhu Agrawal,

Delhi.