LGBTQ community: Letters to the Editor

Through the columns of your esteemed daily, I seek to express my concern on the issues of the LGBTQ community.

Throwing light to one of the major issues faced by the people, who identify themselves from the LGBTQ community, is the suffering of the targeted discrimination mostly in the sectors of employment, education, healthcare and often labelled for their sexual orientation in a derogatory manner.

The LGBTQ community should be accepted in society because they carry the same amount of significance and everyone on this planet has the treasured right to live and enjoy their life.

Sangita Rabha,

Guwahati.

Surging prices of diesel and petrol

Through your esteemed newspaper, I would like to draw the kind attention of the ruling government regarding the surging prices of diesel and petrol. The prices of diesel and petrol have been increasing rapidly and this has hit the life of the common man in this hard time of the pandemic. The expenses of transportation and travelling have become a matter of concern for a lot of people. The rapid increase in the price of diesel and petrol also led to the rise in the price of daily essentials and livelihood items which directly or indirectly affected the monthly budget of the common man.

I would like to request and urge the ruling government to look into the matter and solve this problem as soon as possible.

Bineet Bishal Borthakur,

(rohitkumarnrk85@gmail.com)

Coviself - the
self-testing kit

Through your esteemed daily, I would like to highlight the Coviself kit which was launched in June for testing the COVID-19 antigen.

Mylab's Coviself is a self-testing kit for COVID-19 which gives the results in 15-20 minutes. The testing kit is similar to those kits which the doctors and the medical professionals have been using to detect COVID-19 except that using Coviself anyone can perform the test anywhere on their own without going to a doctor or a medical professional.

Any individual from the age of 18 and beyond can use the testing kit for themselves or by an adult for any individual from the age of 2 to 18.

With the ongoing situation of the second wave of the virus in the country, this can reduce the spread of the virus by making people test themselves at home and prevent them from coming out of their houses. The price of a kit is Rs 250 each which is quite affordable and can be made available to all.

N. Rohit Kumar Singh,

Guwahati.

Burning of drugs

For the first time, we are seeing a Chief Minister so obsessed with the war against drugs. Certainly, it will be very good if we can win the war over drug cartels. We never knew how big the drugs market in the State is. It's worth crores of rupees which can paralyse the present and future generations. Some so-called intellectuals were seen mocking and trolling CM Sarma when he went to Diphu and took fire on his hands to burn the contrabands because they felt it was a publicity stunt and secondly they opined that it was a wastage of public exchequer as CM went to Diphu via helicopter. Now, whatever these negative minded people would say but the fact is that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma himself lighting the fire over the contrabands send a strong and stern message to drug lords that his government is serious about the war against drugs. Bullying, trolling and mocking are the easiest jobs on the earth and that team is abundantly present in social media with their fingers on the keyboards.

Purabi Miri,

Jakhalabandha.

The sudden upsurge

All the departments of the present government at Dispur under the new CM have caught many on the wrong foot. His critics mainly Congress raised some genuine questions regarding the inactions of the same government who was in power for the last 5 years. The reasons seem to be very simple. The new CM has put the right men in the right posts at the right time who have a vast intelligence network. Former CM Sarbananda Sonowal being a perfect gentleman and honest man did not have any iota of information in this regard during his tenure as the Chief Minister. His honesty and integrity cannot be questioned by anybody. The new CM, Himanta Biswa Sarma is an astute politician who calls spade-a-spade. So far, the new government is galloping with their agendas and is scoring on all fronts. We hope the pace at which the present government is working is not short-lived as the identity and security of the sons of the soil in under serious threat at present. Let us hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.

Dr Ashim Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

Leading by example

Action speaks louder than words — this adage has held its ground since time immemorial. We are still colonized. Colonized by speakers, instead, we would have loved if we were colonized by doers. Padma Hazarika, MLA from Sootea through his venture "Kanyaka" has woven a success story that is inspiring to all sections of people. We hear a lot about employment generation and an Atmanirbhar Bharat which is our Prime Minister's dream. But these things only remain on paper and are never realized on the ground. We complain about lack of jobs and lack of opportunities but we never take any initiative on our own. History twinkles with the blood and sweat of doers, not talkers. Padma Hazarika has set an example of being Atmanirbhar by employing more than 4,000 people under the Kanyaka venture. The other day while I was watching the live session of Assam Assembly, Padma Hazarika's speech on employment generation was heard by everyone in the House in a pin drop silence. People know that he is a no-nonsense person who does what he says. We want more people like him.

Noopur Baruah,

Tezpur.

Education

Swami Vivekananda said, "Education is the manifestation of the perfection already present in man."

Education not only educated the man but also give the chance to prove his or her potential, ability and skills. In this regard, evaluation is the only method to know whether the children have learned something or not throughout the academic year. Based on the performance shown in the final exam, we can judge a child, whether the child is efficient or capable or not. Without examination or test, it is difficult for anyone to give the remarks of a particular student.

Our education system throughout the country becomes rigid due to the further growth of the COVID pandemic and as a result, conducting examination becomes a difficult task for the State government as well as the Central government. That's why the CBSE will declare the class 10 and 12 final examination results without holding the examination.

The recent scam in the HSLC final examination-2021 diluted the faith in the examination system in our State. Until and unless we are not able to make our education system scientific and transparent, there is no reason to dream for a better future.

At last, I would like to suggest the Government of Assam conduct the ability test after the pandemic. Based on the ability test, rank and grade will be provided to each student.

Indrajit Sarma,

Dibrugarh.

Kudos to
Nitin Gadkari

Through the columns of your esteemed daily, I would like to convey my high regards and sincere acknowledgement to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of India as well as Minister Nitin Gadkari for creating a world record by constructing a 2.5-km four-lane concrete road in just 24 hours and 26 km single lane Bitumen road in just 21 hours.

The Ministry remarkably under the quixotic leadership of Nitin Gadkari has seen a sharp rise in the construction of the National Highway during the COVID restriction period. According to Gadkari's tweet, in 2020-21 highway construction has paced to 36.5 km per day.

This is commendable and can be considered as progress or positive growth in this sector.

Not only that many provisions have been made in favour of the contractors, sub-contractors, and on-site workers. The provisions include support, medical facilities, food, etc.

Continuation of such work is much needed and will truly justify 'Pragati Ka Highway'.

Niyanta Narayani,

Guwahati.

A barrier in the education system

Through your esteemed daily, I would like to throw some light on the conditions of the students who are facing various academic difficulties due to the barrier of technology. It's been more than a year that we are fighting this pandemic. Everything has switched its ways to the online medium. Education is one of the primary sectors of the State which requires quality attention. But this switch from offline to online mode has resulted in great loss to the academic section. The underprivileged children are somewhere lacking behind due to their failure in accessing technology. The Assam government's initiative to provide mobile phones to students of class 9-10 is a great initiative indeed if it's put into action. But it is not a solution for the long run. We are not aware of forthcoming difficulties and thus it will be appreciable if the authorities concerned take some umbrella steps encompassing more students so that their future is not compromised.

Mridul Mahanta,

Tezpur.

Roads for
800 tea gardens

The State Government has earmarked some amount in the budget (2021-22) to be utilized in constructing roads inside 800 tea gardens of Assam. I find no valid reason to support the State government on this count. The fact of the matter is that most of the tea gardens are owned by private parties and are from outside Assam. The pertinent point is that each garden is solely responsible to provide all facilities to their staff and workers inside tea gardens: free housing, water, electricity, free medical facilities, free schooling for children and good roads inside housing colonies. However, the responsibility of the State government is to keep a constant vigil on their implementations by tea companies in letter and spirit. To counter the government's proposed plan, I want to cite a few examples. Take the case of OIL, Guwahati Refinery and BRPL. They develop all kinds of facilities and infrastructures of their own. Above all, they contribute some % of their net profit to the Central government as well to the State government every year. Moreover, under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scheme, the above corporate contributes generously to development works in their respective areas.

However, we don't know how much profit tea companies make every year, let alone their contribution to the State government's coffer. It has become a habit to spread rumours by a handful of companies that they are running at loss. We have not seen their actual balance sheets to verify their statements. At long last, I want to state two things for public consumption. (1) The companies in question haven't invested as yet in any other industries in Assam other than tea. On the other hand, the same companies invested in various industries outside Assam. (2) Under CSR head, it is for sure that 99.9% of tea companies of Assam have not spent a single paisa. Hence, I put the ball in the State government's court to decide.

Prafulla Dowarah,

Guwahati.

Open letter to Mr Th. Muivah regarding death threat to
4 RTI activists

Respected 'Ato Kilonser', Mr Th. Muivah,

I, as a concerned human being, would like you to respond in the interest of the Naga public in connection with the serious aspersions cast against your organization NSCN-IM in the matter of death threat allegedly issued to four RTI activists in the Senapati district, Manipur. The Chronicle News Service on 18th July 2021 published a news item captioned "Senapati district RTI activists seek help". As per the news item, RTI activists P. Johnson Samo of Taphou Phyamai village and P. R Amose of Khabung Khunou and two others are hiding in Imphal after NSCN-IM had threatened them to withdraw their RTI application relating to the "details of fund released under the ADC for development of 16-Phuba DCC, 17-Phaibung DCC, 18-Ngari Khullen DCC and 24-Karong DCC and progress of the works". Right to information on any important public works has nothing to do with Indian law or custom. It is to do with transparency and accountability to the public for the utilization of public funds which is for the good of all in any society. Further, the paper stated that the so-called 'diktat' was issued by NSCN-IM Shepoumaramth region leaders K.V Sounii and Rev. Puni Mao. To quote "both the NSCN-IM leaders have been threatening RTI activists to withdraw the application. In the diktat issued on March 16 and 17, the two leaders warned that no one in the region should file RTI application to Government of India and anyone defying the order shall be given capital punishment". The sensational allegations whether true or false needs to be categorically clarified before the Naga public by the 'Ministry of Information and Publicity wing' of the NSCN-IM is very necessary and important since the Naga people or the public is the ultimate supreme authority of any organization. The two mentioned leaders are members of the uppermost echelons of the Collective Leadership of the NSCN-IM. Moreover, one of them has the label of a Reverend. A reverend is supposed to be the embodiment of Christian Gospel values like non-violence, love, compassion, care, honesty and integrity. The other serious allegation is that Mr Inoch was 'tortured by NSCN-IM for his refusal to withdraw the RTI application'. One more allegation is that 'RTI activist Mr Dalouni along with 28 villagers had to pay a heavy fine to the NSCN-IM for defying its diktat'. I came across this same story even on other social media. The activists had claimed to have sent out desperately SOS messages and earnest appeals for help from the Manipur government and the Government of India and other civil societies including human rights organizations. The allegations point to the 'felonious activities of NSCN-IM, the strongest Naga political faction out of more than a dozen factions who claim to fight for the independent sovereign Nagaland'. I earnestly request and appeal to 'Mr. Ato Kilonser (Prime Minister) Muivah' to clarify in clear terms before the Naga public, as they are paying taxes to them for the defence of Naga people and their lands from the so-called 'foreign occupational forces both India and Myanmar'. Whether there is any substance behind the alleged sensationalism requires urgent clearing of the air or affirmation of the allegations. I hope the NSCN-IM organization is not sliding into chaos and criminality like the mafia networks.

Xavier Pfokrehe Mao,

Professor

Department of Philosophy

North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong

(xavmao@gmail.com)

Just a thought

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma held a meeting with the representatives of indigenous Muslims in Khanapara Administration Block a few days ago. The meeting was very cordial as a majority of the invitees opine before the media describing the meeting as historic. Now the focus has shifted to the next meeting which is scheduled to be held between the Chief Minister and representatives of immigrant Muslims or Miyan Muslims. I being a keen follower of State politics is eager to see the invitee list and those who personally make it to the meeting.

Julie Bhuyan,

Gaurisagar.

Negative impact of

electronic devices

Through the column of your esteemed newspaper, I would like to draw the attention of the public towards the adverse impact of electronic devices on our health. Continuous staring at your phones, laptops and other electronic devices can cause serious health-related problems such as headache, migraine, sleep disorder, depression and can seriously influence our nervous system.

The most basic problem we all are dealing with is eye strain which is caused by continuous exposure to electronic devices. We can deal with it if we follow the 20-20-20 rule. The rule says that for every 20 minutes spent looking at a screen, a person should look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds this will help us prevent this problem. So, through your columns, I would like to urge the public to minimize the use of electronic devices so that they don't have to go through health-related problems in their lives. An individual can also wear eyeglasses while using any such devices to minimize the effect of eye strain.

Joydeep Paul,

Guwahati.

A dark side of
COVID protocol

I live in Tezpur town which has been under complete lockdown for COVID -19 for the last fortnight. Our domestic help, Bina (45), manages her six-member family with a sick son and an idle husband with much difficulty. Another son used to earn a meagre amount working in a shop which has been closed now. Bina is very faithful and has a high self-esteem. She often asks for loan but never begs anything. She could not come to work for a fortnight due to the current complete lockdown for COVID-19. When my wife called her, she hinted that they were in a difficult situation. One morning, she came and was narrating how they have been passing days with barely a meal a day for the last week. A few days ago, her sister gave them four kg of rice. That is finished. We all were feeling very sad with my wife almost breaking down. After a few minutes, Mr Avinash (55), who used to clean our campus sometimes, for about twenty-five years, arrived and asked for an advance of rupees five hundred, for the first time. He has two daughters with him, one of them immobile and the other, a tailor, out of work for three months.

Our situation is of course much better though we have been struggling to do our routine duties with additional domestic works. But our cash has almost exhausted after having caught unprepared by a fortnight of curfew. I also needed some medicines. As there was news in the television and newspapers about opening of groceries, fruits and vegetable shops from today, I went out with my wife in my car and collected some cash from an ATM only to discover groceries, fruits and vegetable shops also to be closed by the district administration of Sonitpur.

We however have managed to get some rice and other groceries for Bina. Bina has left our home carrying over 15 kg of food herself. It's more than a kilometre to her hut. Still, she has refused my offer of a lift by my car as it's prohibited by COVID SoP. Hope Bina's family will now eat both times for some days. And Avinash also will probably meet some of his needs temporarily. But there are thousands of people like Bina and Avinash?

Allowing at least grocery shops in the district to open till 5 pm to avoid rush and allowing daily wage earning maintaining COVID-19 protocols may reduce the hardship of poor people. Home delivery or online shopping is hardly of any help to them without money. Home-delivery of fruits and vegetables, which are only luxuries for people like Bina and Avinash, may continue. I plead the district authority of Sonitpur to consider the same. Further, as restoration of normalcy appears remote, some sorts of relaxations in COVID restrictions must be worked out at the earliest to reduce the hardships of poor wage earners to respect their basic human rights, of course with strict enforcement of COVID protocols, in Sonitpur as well as elsewhere.

Dr Robin Kumar Dutta,

Tezpur University.

Health workers' agitation

Frontline health workers in the State are working very hard during this COVID pandemic. At a time when we should appreciate and felicitate their relentless services, some district administrators and health officials are adopting strict disciplinary actions against them for minor faults. Besides this, in many cases, one has to work without getting breakfast, lunch, or not even getting a water bottle though the government has given enough money to the district authorities. It's indeed a matter of great concern and disheartening to see that the frontline health workers staged an agitation at Lakhimpur District.

Dr B.K. Nath,

Tezpur.

Encounters by
Assam Police

Of late, we hear and read in the media that a few people accused of crimes like rape, etc. allegedly tried to flee from the custody of Assam Police, and then either got killed or injured when police fired on them. This is an extremely pathetic commentary on the Assam Police. Repeated incidents of these types cannot be normal and natural. This was not the case till in the recent past. It also put a question mark on the efficiency of the Assam Police. First, if fleeing from Police custody is happening regularly, then obviously the Police personnel are ill-trained or are incapable of handling people in custody. Secondly, if the police are using brute force, and trying to get rid of accused persons by using firearms, then these are heinous acts. In Mumbai, Policemen like Pradeep Sharma, Sachin Vaze, and others are bad examples, when the Policemen became a law unto themselves. Whether we like it or not, there has to be a rule of law, and established procedures must be followed in letter and spirit by the Police. It is the judicial courts that pronounce whether an accused is guilty or not. The whole world, including us in India, was shaken when a Black man George Floyd was suffocated to death by Minneapolis policemen on 25th May 2020. The four officers involved in the manslaughter were fired immediately, and Derek Chauvin, the prime accused was recently sent to prison for 22.5 years. Meanwhile, Pradeep Sharma and Sachin Vaze, who were in privileged positions earlier, within and outside the Mumbai police, were arrested recently and are being investigated for various acts of omissions and commissions.

It is extremely high time that the civil administration, human rights organizations, and of course, the judiciary took sensitive note of these incidents in Assam, and ensured that the due process of law is followed, especially by the Police. Otherwise, the matters may spiral out of hand, for which we would be extremely sorry for ourselves in future.

D Bhutia,

RGB Road, Guwahati.