Letters to the Editor

This is apropos to the letter published in your esteemed daily under the caption "Attention "GMC/GMDA" (The Sentinel 2nd April), wherein it has been highlighted a very important but perennial issue that plagued Guwahati. The fact is that crazy people have the tendency to grab public and private land to construct their houses and flats. We know that many wetlands in and around Guwahati are being back-filled with earth for construction of private buildings and hotels. Now, from the above letter it has come to light that even Bahini Drain has not been spared. Earth filling is going on brazenly near Rukminigaon, behind a hotel under construction. It is not exaggeration to state that Bahini Drain is the lifeline of the city. Now, point is that how come people dare to fill the drain with earth to their advantage and too in the vicinity of the capital, Dispur. Therefore, we request all people/authority concerned to do the needful to undo the damage already done to the Bahini Drain.

Ramen Hazarika,

Guwahati

Loudspeakers for political campaign

Through your esteemed daily, I would like to highlight the use of loudspeakers for political campaigning. These speakers are attached on vehicles which ply around the city leading to noise pollution. Noise pollution is already one of the biggest problems we are dealing with; the excessive use of loudspeakers is making it worse. Old people, infants find it hard to catch up with their much needed sleep. I see no justification of using them on the streets.

Julie Kakoty,

Guwahati

24x7 COVID vaccination

The decision of the Delhi government to open the COVID vaccination centres round-the-clock is a step in the right direction. The cases are increasing in all States of India including Delhi. Lockdown has again been imposed in a few cities. The vaccination drive needs to be carried out speedily. The State governments should build up a potent mechanism to ensure 24x7 vaccination.

Amit Singh Kushwaha,

Satna (M.P.)

Digital divide

Through this column of your esteemed daily, I would like to draw the attention of all the telecommunication companies to the very poor internet connectivity in many rural areas.

I am a student of Cotton University, studying in Guwahati. I basically belong to a village named Barhatichung which is just 13 km from Nagaon town. The internet connectivity there is so bad that whenever I go home during holidays I completely get disconnected with the digital world of information. I cannot use the internet to get information. So, the people from such places are somehow lagging behind in comparison to other privileged people. Especially the youths are slow in growth as they have lack of information due to slow internet or they get the information later than others. So they are getting digitally divided from others having good facilities. Nowadays, people from village areas also have good smartphones, networks etc.

I hope all the telecommunication companies will try to improve internet connectivity in such rural areas.

Gitartha Pratim Nath,

Guwahati

Second wave of COVID-19

As India has been dealing with the second wave of COVID-19 for the last few days, people should consider it as a serious problem. While the government should vaccinate people as early as possible, the people in general should follow the precautionary measures to remain safe. It is also said that the second wave of COVID-19 in India is more infectious than the first one. On Tuesday, April 6, more than a lakh people were declared to have been infected by coronavirus. Most of the affected people in India belong to Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi, Chhatisgarh, Punjab, Chandigarh and Gujarat. With the chance of COVID-19 spreading across the whole nation, every person should take precautions to stay safe from the deadly virus.

Maheswar Deka,

Rangia

Cheating passengers

Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper I would like to draw the attention of the authorities of Uber to the drivers who work under them and try to cheat its passengers. Nowadays Uber drivers try to fool the passengers by saying that due to some problems they will drop them at their desired destination through offline mode. But most of the citizens don't know if they go by offline. They pay the drivers not the company and also the cab booking which they did doesn't get cancelled. This situation is faced by many people and most of them are still not aware of it. Through this column I want to warn the citizens if they face similar situations where the driver says that they will take them through offline mode then they should immediately cancel it and lodge a complaint with Uber.

Himadri Kalita,

Guwahati

Apology to the editor-in-chief

With due respect I would like to state that on 7th of February, 2021 on my piece which got published in The Sentinel titled 'Assam and its glory', due to some major mistake of mine in the writer's section again I sent an apology letter to your paper, so as to publish it as a letter to the editor. For this complete matter I am responsible for it.

It was my major mistake being a writer. From this mistake I have learnt a lot. I promise to the editor that this kind of mistake will not happen again in future. I request to the editor that kindly consider me for this time and publish my articles in future.

Kindly pardon my mistake. Hoping for your kind consideration!

With regards

Hrishikesh Sarma,

Guwahati

Aggressive vaccination

The COVID scene is worsening. It has put the whole nation at risk once again. Instead of adopting the lockdown route and blundering again, the authorities should aggressively persuade the masses to go for vaccination. Experts agree and have been asserting daily through mass media that vaccination is the only solution to control this pandemic. Everyone above the age of 18 should be allowed to take the dose. To avoid rush at inoculation centres, only spacious and well-ventilated buildings should be designated for the purpose. It is time the government stopped export of the vaccine to other countries, and rather let the nation add more vaccines like Sputnik V and Novavax to the present list.

Chandan Kumar Nath,

Sorbhog

Election riddle

The ongoing Assembly elections in three states, including Assam and Union Territory of Puducherry, are over baring West Bengal where the remaining polls are due to end in five more phases. Like other poll-bound States, in Assam also the poll campaign went on without following COVID-19 restrictions. People in large numbers joined political road shows and meetings without face cover and social distancing. The direct fallout of such a lapse is that 'rising COVID positive cases are reported in the second wave of the pandemic in the State'.

Secondly, in the poll campaign the political leaders got themselves engaged in mutual acrimony and accusations against one another sidetracking real problems and civic issues of the people. This apart, the political parties loaded their respective manifestos copiously with the baits to entice the voters. And during the campaigning the people were as usual reeling under acute water crisis and frequent load-shedding. All these above digressions are the most worrying facts in the functioning of our democracy.

Pannalal Dey,

Guwahati

Virtual learning

Nowadays, virtual learning is a very much familiar term for every student. Every educational institution was closed due to COVID-19 pandemic and online classes were helping out to achieving educational continuity through various platforms such as Google classroom, Google meet, Zoom, Microsoft team etc. Undeniably such technologies are helping hands for students. Had there been no virtual classes, we might have lagged behind. But only a small section of the Indian population has access to online classes. There are problems of power supply, internet connectivity and mobile phones or laptops not being affordable for many students etc. But somehow they manage to work.

But now virtual learning is the biggest challenge for students. Focusing on the screen for very long period of time is inconceivable for the students. And in virtual learning there is minimal physical interaction between students and teachers, which is not absolutely much beneficial for a student. Also practical works are not done in online mode which is also a major issue for university-level students. Without any practical works the universities are promoting the students from one semester to another. This is a complete loss for a student's life.

It is widely seen that corona outbreak has created distraction to a lot of inspired students. So, it would be very much helpful and beneficial if the government focuses mainly on the university-level institutions. It is better to open universities soon, because today's youth are the future of the nation.

Neeki Sharma,

Mass Communication and Journalism, Tezpur University

Drug addiction

Nowadays we observe that youths are more addicted to alcohol, gutkha, drugs, cigarette etc., which lead to serious physical health issues like cancer, TB, mental issues etc. Also it is commonly seen that people drink and drive which lead to road accidents. Through your esteemed daily, I would like to request the authorities concerned to take action against the menace of drugs.

Himakhi Hazarika,

Guwahati.

Kudos to Rajanikanth

Congrats to super star Rajanikanth, who has been rightly honoured with the prestigious Dadasahab Phalke award. Of course, as usual, there will be some brickbats by Opposition leaders, especially at this announcement on the eve of election in Tamil Nadu. However, they coolly forget that they too had adopted such methods to please their own people, that too on the eve of elections, to garner some votes.

Chandan Kumar Nath,

Sorbhog