Letters to the Editor: Dangers of intoxication

Dangers of intoxication

Intoxication generally means the state of altered consciousness induced by harmful substances, which poses significant risk to individuals, families, and society. At present, the level of intoxication is increasing greatly, which creates a mental imbalance among people within a particular society.

Intoxication results from the inhalation or ingestion of harmful substances, including alcohol, illicit drugs, prescription medications, and inhalants. Peer pressure, stress, and curiosity drive individuals to experiment with these substances, often leading to addiction. The rate of intoxication at present is highest among the youth because they are out of bounds of their family members and no one is there to judge them regarding this matter. But they should take care of themselves on their own. If proper care is not taken, then harmful results will take place. It is likely to have bad consequences for health. Consequences can be divided into short-term and long-term ones. Short-term consequences generally include accidents and injuries, violence and crime, overdose, coma, and various others. Long-term consequences generally include addiction and dependence, organ damage, increased risk of chronic diseases, mental health disorders, and social and economic problems.

Manish Kashyap

Tezpur

Co-districts: A path-breaking concept

The Sunday, October 6, news headline 'Now we break new ground; others follow suit, says CM,' published in your esteemed daily has drawn our attention. The landmark move to set up as many as 78 co-districts by February next year for the speedy development of the state by virtue of the same party leading the government at the centre and in the state is driven by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's guiding principle of 'Minimum government, maximum governance'. Assam has unleashed a set of powerful administrative reforms that transcend processes and procedures and, in reality, catalyse social reforms as we race ahead on our journey to being an Atmanirbhar Bharat. With rationalizing departments like PWD, Water Resources, and Irrigation, apart from attaching a circle office and an education office, each of the co-districts will definitely offload around eighty percent of the work of the existing DC offices at district headquarters. The emergence of co-districts is on the way to put an end to the rising demands for the creation of new subdivisions, districts, etc. With increasing globalization, there is a need to streamline our processes to achieve higher competitiveness levels globally. It is therefore imperative for all of us to realise the steps being taken by the government across the state to bring efficacious reforms to us, transitioning from a government-centric to a people-centric model of governance. A case in point has been the monitoring and program managing each of these initiatives at the highest levels, which has been a key factor in our successes of late.

Iqbal Saikia,

Guwahati.