sentinelgroup@gmail.com
Engineers are the mainstay of the nation
Our engineers are considered the mainstay to make Assam the number one state in the country by constructing robust and world-class quality infrastructures. Every one of them is brilliant and talented. Despite this fact, we get poor quality of roads, footpaths, drains, drainage systems, embankments, bridges, buildings, and irrigation systems of the state, to name a few. To put things in perspective, it is to be stated that due to bad engineering, the people of Guwahati, more often than not, reel under spells of artificial floods during the monsoon. Bad constructions cost the poor state of Assam heavily. Had they wished they could have made Guwahati and Assam, as a whole, a beautiful place to live in? Alas, that didn't happen.
Good construction requires more than just talent; it needs dedication, work experience, honesty, and accountability. By focusing on imparting work-related training to fresh professionals, stricter monitoring, reviewing, and follow-ups of jobs in progress are required. Inspection and quality control are important factors in construction. Engineers and contractors should be made responsible for low-quality performance. Brilliance or talent has no use unless it is translated into action for the greater cause of the state and humanity as a whole.
At the end I want to conclude by stating that many years ago, in a convocation address at IIT-Kharagpur, an eminent chief guest in his speech remarked (not exact words) that 'if a person from the medical profession makes a mistake, then the same would be forgotten in the passage of time. However, if an engineer makes a mistake while building a structure, etc., then that will remind people for centuries'. As such, every engineer should try to make things perfect.
Prafulla Dowarah
Guwahati
NE and golden spice
It is a well-known fact that the Northeast region is the world's largest producer, consumer, and exporter of organic turmeric, accounting for more than 62 percent of the global trade, but sadly, the region's, including Assam turmeric's, commercial production has remained low compared to its potential. The editorial, 'Unlocking golden spice potential in Northeast published in your esteemed daily on January 16, has rightly said that the main reason for the majority of the youth in the region, who do not find commercial organic farming a better livelihood option, is their growing apprehension over getting remunerative returns on their investment of time, money, and energy for want of a required market. The lack of a dependable supply chain and logistics speaks volumes about the gaps. The Northeast states, therefore, need to address these gaps in collaboration with the launching of the National Turmeric Board. There is no doubt that the traditional knowledge of NEs' turmeric growers can make the Northeast a globally important commercial hub of the golden spice. Already Meghalaya's famous 'Lakadang' variety of turmeric has earned international fame for its finest quality because of its high curcumin content. Let us hope that the newly constituted Board will play its role well to safeguard the interest of the growers while unlocking the export market potential through strengthening the organic certification process in the region. The NE states must join hands to make the turmeric cultivation movement successful in the region.
Iqbal Saikia,
Guwahati.
Bandra’s dark side
The Saif Ali Khan stabbing incident has caused ripples in the minds of Mumbai people. This is the third time such a crime has occurred in Mumbai's upscale area of Bandra. In July 2024, actor Salman Khan's home in Bandra came under attack as two shooters allegedly linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang fired shots at his house. The attack prompted Salman Khan to upgrade security at his Galaxy Homes apartment with bulletproof glass and electric fencing. In October 2024, former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Baba Siddiqui, known to be close to Salman Khan, was shot dead outside his son's office in Bandra. The attackers were again linked to the Bishnoi gang. Thus, the upscale locality sees high-profile crimes.
Jayanthi Subramaniam
(jayantck1@hotmail.com)
Temples of learning
Discussions and debates, biographies, and book extracts are readily made available on popular social media sites like Facebook, WhatsApp, and X. People lap up the contents posted here to stop short of further exploration. As a consequence, the good old habit of reading books is on a slippery slope. Purchasing books and surfing through their contents is one thing; visiting libraries to keep the reading habit alive and kicking is a totally different aspect altogether. Maintaining a library is as important as keeping places of worship spick and span because the former is the temple of learning. Many scholars have described how they "discovered" themselves in libraries. American writer and historian Shelby Foote had said, "A university is just a group of buildings gathered around a library." It is unfortunate that many states in India lack prudent rules and regulations governing the functioning of libraries. Unarguably, libraries of cities have some infrastructure and materials. But the plight of "libraries" in small towns and villages is not worth mentioning. India has approximately one and a half million libraries—public and private—the sad situation is thus in the open. Academic libraries within schools and colleges have their sanctity and are powerhouses of knowledge. But the lending and reference libraries of the states, especially the former, have to get their act together because there is no fund scarcity with the government.
Dr Ganapathi Bhat
(gbhat13@gmail.com)