Letters To The Editor: Smart police

Smart police

Recently the government took to social media in a big way to highlight the third position secured by Assam Police in Smart Police Survey 2021, securing a score of 7.89. To ascertain the ground reality of policing in Guwahati, I tweeted

to Guwahati Traffic Police (@GhtyTrafficPol) about the parking of two-wheelers in the footpaths of Ganeshguri and Ulubari areas thereby blocking the path of pedestrians for quite sometimes with a request to clear the path by removing the two-wheelers. I cited specific locations so that the traffic cops can initiate action. Let alone act swiftly by Guwahati Traffic Police, they didn't even acknowledge my tweet. Among the 7 parameters on which the police were evaluated in the said survey were responsiveness and police sensitivity. None of these attributes is visible in the present case showing the police in poor light within a few days of the publication of the survey results.

In quite big contrast to the above experience, I recall my days in Mumbai a few years ago when we used to send tweets to Mumbai Police when stranded in stagnant traffic jams. The Deputy Commissioner (Traffic) then used to instantly respond saying they are on the job to streamline the traffic. Within a very short time of DCP's tweet, the jam will be cleared and everything is back to normal. I didn't know whether Smart Police Survey existed then, but we would have surely voted for Mumbai Traffic Police Department for quickly responding to our distress calls and rescuing us from traffic woes.

There is no need to blow your own trumpet by highlighting a survey result. People will always appreciate good work if it improves their lot and alleviate their sufferings.

Rajib Sarma,

Guwahati

A forgotten hero

Not all have the privilege to have his/her body wrapped in the national flag of three different countries. Biju Patnaik alias Bijayananda Patnaik, who was born in 1916 and breathed his last in 1997, was one such individual. When he left for heavenly abode, his body was wrapped with three national flags — of India, Russia and Indonesia. Biju Patnaik served as Chief Minister of Odisha for two terms but before jumping into active politics he served as a pilot. When the Soviet Union was in trouble during WW2, he bombed Nazi forces by flying a fighter aircraft named Dakota which forced Hitler's Army to retreat. For this act, he was later on honoured and granted honorary citizenship of the Soviet Union.

When the Kavalis attacked Kashmir, it was Biju Patnaik who made several trips a day from Delhi to Srinagar on 27th October 1947 by flying a plane and transporting the Indian soldiers to Srinagar. It was a massive boost to the Indian Army in its war against the enemy.

Indonesia was once a colony of Dutch and the Dutch Army were in total oppressive mode by not allowing the people of Indonesia to venture out of their home. Though Indonesia gained independence from the colonial power of Holland in 1945, again in 1947, Prime Minister of Indonesia Sutan Sjahrir was put under house arrest. The government of Indonesia sought India's help. The then PM Nehru asked Biju Patnaik to rescue the captive PM of Sjahrir. So, on 22nd July 1947, Biju Patnaik along with his wife took a Dakota plane without caring little for his life, flew over the areas controlled by Dutch and landed on their soil, displaying exemplary bravery and bought the Indonesian PM safely to India via Singapore. This incident developed tremendous energy in the Indonesian Army and they attacked Dutch soldiers and Indonesia became a completely independent country. Later on, when Indonesian President Sukarno was blessed with a daughter, he invited Biju Patnaik and his wife to Indonesia as state guests to name their daughter and the Patnaik couple blessed the little one and named the President's daughter as Megawati (meaning 'cloud goddess' in Sanskrit) Sukarnoputri. In 1950, the Indonesian government granted honorary citizenship to Biju Patnaik and conferred the nation's highest award 'Bintang Jasa Utma', on Indonesia's 50th year of independence. After the death of Biju Patnaik, seven days of state mourning was observed in Indonesia and one-day state mourning was observed in Russia with all flags being lowered.

Our history books ignored this great soul as a result subsequent generations hardly knew about him. Our history books which were written by the leftist brigade only glorified the Nehru dynasty and the Mughal empires. Megawati Sukarnoputri who served as fifth President of Indonesia revealed the greatness of Biju Patnaik to the public during her Hinduism embracing ritual.

Julie Bhuyan,

Gaurisagar.

Good news for India

The good news for the entire country is that adults who have received both (complete) doses of the COVID vaccine do not need to take Booster doses. Professor Dr Balram Bhargava, Secretary, Department of Health Research, (Ministry of Health & Family Welfare), Government of India and Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said this with confidence. This courageous talk has made every Indian happy.

However, Dr Bhargava congratulates you on this courageous talk. We hope that you will give more and more good news (health-related) to the people of India in the days to come.

Heramba Nath,

Hindumaijali, Kamrup.

Yet another vir

After the 'heroic exploits' of one Param Vir Singh, the absconding top cop of Maharashtra police which has shamed the entire police force of the nation, the nation is blessed with yet another VIR, in the name of Vir Das, who is by choice a stand-up comedian who is supposed to bring smiles on the faces of his listeners. But he did otherwise. Recently in the USA, the said comedian Vir Das in his show in KENNEDY CENTRE tarnished the image of his own country before a distinguished gathering which made every Indian hang his head in shame. We all vividly remember that some decades ago how SWAMI VIVEKANANDA kept the entire audience spellbound with his priceless speech highlighting India's rich heritage, culture and tradition.

It is a high time the nation honoured Vir Das along with Novjot Singh Sidhu with some brickbat awards.

Dr Ashim Chowdhury,

GUWAHATI.