Letters to The EDITOR: GI tag to 8 Bodo traditional items

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GI tag to 8 Bodo traditional items

Apropos the news report “Bodo Aronai, food items and beverages granted GI tag” (October 3) published in your esteemed daily, it is heartening to note that 8 more items belonging to Bodo culture, comprising four unique traditional food items, three varieties of rice beer, and the traditional Bodo scarf ‘Aronai’, have been granted the coveted Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the Geographical Indications Registry, Chennai. This comes in the backdrop of other items already granted the GI tag a few months ago. The granting of the GI tag to these traditional items will go a long way in the conservation and preservation of traditional knowledge, heritage, and practices associated with them. Kudos to the individuals and the organisations involved in this entire process from filing of applications till getting the GI tag.

Gwshad Basumatary,

Diajhijari, Kokrajhar

Why waste man-days?

We know for sure that time is important out of six resources: men, material, time, cost, effort, and finance (MMTCEF), which are the instruments to control the destiny of an individual as well as the nation. Having said that, I wish to come to the main issue. I don’t know why we need to give much weight to what a state minister of Karnataka said about the semiconductor project in public. We need to ignore what Tom, Dick, and Harry talk about it and about us as well. By saying something, the Karnataka minister can’t turn the table in their favour. The die is cast. Project work for the semi-conductor project has just begun. Our concern should be to ensure that project work sails along smoothly without any bottlenecks, as we encountered during the construction of the 300 MT/day capacity paper mill at Jagiroad in the early eighties.

Instead of devoting our time (resource) on constructive purposes, we more often than not are wasting valuable time dealing with non-productive work. At the behest of a cabinet minister, including 11 BJP MLAs, a public rally had been organised recently at Jagiroad, with 2000 people (approximately) to protest against a minister, someone hardly a few people in Assam know of. In the process, we have lost 2000 man days (8 x 2000 = 16, 000 man hours). With the proper utilisation of 16, 000 man hours, we could have achieved something significant for the state. However, the man hours have been lost forever. The basic point I want to drive home is that an individual or a society that doesn’t value time can’t succeed or prosper. Time is the essence of everything!

Prafulla Dowarah

Guwahati

Trams are now history

One of Kolkata’s most loved modes of transport—trams—will now be relegated to the pages of history. The name “tram” is derived from the Scottish “wagons”,  and they generally consist of one or two carriages. Also called trolley cars or streetcars in some countries, they operate on tracks laid at ground level but can stop quickly due to their slow speed and electromagnetic brakes. In short, they are meant for urban transit. Last year, Kolkatan residents marked the 150th anniversary of trams, notwithstanding the sad fact that the popularity of trams had waned over the decades with only three routes available when the West Bengal government recently decided to call it a day for them, except on one route, citing more efficient transport options. 

But the electricity-operated trams could have been provided a new lifeline by the government, more so because they were seen as pocket-friendly and convenient by the poor. Be that as it may, environmental activists are up in arms against the state government’s decision. Introduced in 1873 in erstwhile Calcutta, trams are known to be one of the most environmentally friendly modes of transport. Considering the huge influence the trams have had on the people of Kolkata, the government should have recommended them for UNESCO heritage status. By no means were the trams exclusive to Kolkata; cities like Mumbai, Chennai, and Patna ran trams. That said, the warmth and charm the trams of the “city of joy” oozed and their sheer longevity are unmatched. 

Dr Ganapathi Bhat 

(gbhat13@gmail.com)

Crossing point at Kaliapani Tini-ali

Through the column of your esteemed daily, I, on behalf of the people of Kaliapani, under Jorhat district, would like to request the authority concerned to install a crossing point at Kaliapani Tini-ali. It is seen that there is no crossing point to enter the Kaliapani area at Kaliapani Tini-ali for the vehicles coming from the Jorhat direction. The temporary crossing point near the petrol pump cannot be said to be safe at all. So, the vehicles have to cross at Jogduar Tini-ali to enter Kaliapani. Crossing at Jogduar and traversing in the wrong direction for about 2 km to enter Kaliapani is not safe at all, as the place is located in an accident-prone area too. The important thing is that Kaliapani is going to become an educational hub in the near future. The construction of various educational institutions is taking place in full swing. Two universities, a law college, and most importantly, a hospital, will be functional at Kaliapani within a very short span of time. Moreover, the Kaliapani-Selenghat road is one of the busiest roads in the Teok area. Many tea gardens of small tea growers, government offices, religious places, a weekly Saturday market, and many more are connected to this road. As there is no crossing point for the vehicles headed for Kaliapani coming from Jorhat direction, it may lead to serious inconvenience to all classes of people when all the above institutions become functional. Therefore, I, on behalf of the people of Kaliapani, in the greater interest of the public, would like to request the authorities concerned engaged in the construction of the four-lane highway to make necessary arrangements to install a crossing point at Kaliapani Tini-ali.

Basanta Baruah

Kaliapani, Jorhat.