Accord topmost priority to NE’s security
The recent anti-Indian rhetoric and repeated threats by radical Bangladeshi elements to cut off India’s Northeast from the mainland are ominous signals of growing internal security threats in the region. The editorial ‘Strategic imperative for Northeast security’ published in your esteemed daily on December 18 has rightly said that although India is in favour of peace and stability in Bangladesh and consistently calling for free, fair, inclusive and credible elections in the country, Bangladeshi-based jihadi groups are taking forward their diabolic game plan of targeting the Chicken Neck corridor. But the state’s police and security forces managed to foil their bids and put jihadi elements, including Bangladeshi nationals, behind bars. There is no doubt that Bangladesh’s current interim regime’s deepening ties with Pakistan have precipitated rising security threats in the NE region. What Bangladesh now needs is immediate restoration of democracy for peace and stability in this sensitive geopolitical region. Both India and Bangladesh should resolve misunderstandings persisting between them and focus on prosperity, peace and regional security, based on the spirit of mutual interdependence for further fulfilment of aspirations of people of both the countries, and that is exactly what is needed at this hour.
Iqbal Saikia,
Guwahati
‘Match Fixing’
Recently amusing news has surfaced in the press regarding ‘match fixing’ charges for which four Assam state players have been suspended with immediate effect from participating in any cricket activity conducted by ACA. The accused were trying to fix games by approaching the current members of the state team in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). The Assam team’s performances in the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Cooch Behar Trophy and SMAT are below par compared to the pan-Indian cricket state-level teams. Assam has miles to go, and its cricketers are hardly known outside Assam. In such a situation, we are utterly surprised and amused to find that match-fixing charges have been levelled against the four state players when Assam cricket itself has nothing to fix, as we are lying at the bottom of the East Zone Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare, and Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the point table.
Of late Assam is very much in BCCI’s notebook, as we have one official who happens to be the General Secretary of cash-rich BCCI, a very prized and prestigious post. Though Guwahati has become a test venue, results in the national-level tournaments and, more recently, match-fixing news have dampened the very spirit of the game in the state. The foremost duty of the ACA is to improve the performance of the state teams.
Joel Goyari,
Tangla
Address Delhi-NCR pollution crisis
The worsening air pollution crisis in the Delhi NCR region has once again highlighted the alarming gap between policy announcements and actual implementation. Despite repeated warnings from health experts, emissions from factories, coal-based power plants, construction activities, and unchecked vehicular traffic continue to choke the region.
Air pollution is no longer a seasonal inconvenience but a year-round public health emergency. Children, elderly citizens, and those with respiratory illnesses remain the most vulnerable, paying the highest price for administrative delay and weak enforcement.
While temporary measures like vehicle restrictions and school closures offer short-term relief, they fail to address the root causes. What is urgently required is strict monitoring of industrial emissions, promotion of clean energy, improved public transport, and accountability at every level of governance. The right to breathe clean air must be treated as a fundamental right, not a privilege.
Bhaskar Deka,
Pragjyotish College, Guwahati