Dibrugarh is facing the serious problem of traffic jams after the opening of the Bogibeel Bridge. People from Arunachal Pradesh, Dhemaji, and Silapathar come to Dibrugarh on a daily basis for medical checkups and other purposes. But with respect to the number of vehicles, the roads are very narrow and there are no proper parking places in the entire town. Moreover, there are also the risks of accidents taking place due to such rush of vehicles. The problem of traffic jam can be overcome only by broadening the roads. Another way to ease the issue is by allowing vehicles to move in the one-way mode. Proper parking places and systematic monitoring of vehicles must be set up. Zebra-crossings can ease the problem for pedestrians. It also becomes very difficult for pedestrians because the footpaths are mostly broken and narrow with garbage piled all over it. Steps should be taken to clear the footpaths of makeshift stalls. The authorities concerned must initiate steps to solve the problems posing threats to people at large.
Alankrit Borthakur,
Dibrugarh.
Social media tells us that it acts as a platform to boost or improve our social life. In the past few years, social media has become an important part of our daily life. The young generation is the most prolific user of social media. Each day appears to be incomplete for the youth today unless he or she shares at least one status update. People share what they eat, where they are heading to, what they wear and many other activities of their day-to-day lives. In other words, such sharing has become a part of their daily activity. Nowadays not having a social media account makes us appear as if we are "unsocial". No wonder the youth today easily conveys everything though text message but finds it difficult to even greet each other when they meet in real life. They have literally become hostages to various forms of the social media. As a matter of fact, most of the people cannot even think of a world without smart phones and social networking.
A study showed that 48% of people, aged 18-34, check their Facebook accounts immediately after they wake up. This shows how young adults prioritize the social media. Besides, the social media also exposes the youth to several negative activities like cyber bulling, and falling prey to online frauds. At times, the social media even trespasses upon one's personal space.
The youth tends to believe almost anything that is posted on the social media platforms and this proves the serious impact they exercise on many young adults. It is a matter of concern that when we see people getting into trouble; instead of helping them we start taking their pictures — recording the incident(s) to post these footages on the social media. It has therefore become a necessity to monitor how the youths today use the social-media platforms. Even if the social media has the power to make the world a better place yet it depends on how the users — especially the youths — today need to learn to balance the time between social media and their daily activities and not let the addiction of social-media engulf them.
Pratibha Bhattacharjee,
Dakshin Kamrup Girls' College,
Mirza.