Flyovers are not needed
Lately, Guwahati has become a city of flyovers. I do not want to elaborate on the easing of traffic snarls caused by existing flyovers. But very alarmingly, I, as a daily commuter of the city, want to raise some questions about the purpose of the 5-km-long flyover to be built from RBI point to FCI, Noonmati. The stretch of ever-busy GNB Road stretching from RBI to FCI is joined by many busy lanes. The main city bus routes from Adabari to Noonmati, Beltola, Basistha, and Panjabari have many important stopovers like the Textile Institution, Guwahati Club, Silpukhuri, Chandmari, etc., which the present running city buses cannot afford to miss. The Guwahati Club police point is one of the busiest police points, connecting some institutions like St. Mary’s School, Kamrup Academy, Maharishi Vidya Mandir, the Office of Chief Engineer PWD, the Brahmaputra Flood Control Board, The Assam Tribune, and various banks, etc. The age-old Dighalipukhuri scenic beauty will be totally destroyed.
The said flyover will only serve commuters moving from Pan Bazar to Noonmati, which means very few vehicles will use the flyover. The nightmarish experiences of the Maligaon flyover traffic jam are still fresh in our minds, and only God knows what will be the plight of the daily commuters during the long construction period of the said flyover. We, the commuters, are smelling a rat, as the public knows everything. This letter of mine will surely go unnoticed due to reasons known to all.
Aparna Sarma,
Guwahati.
Will justice really be done by calling
punishment as justice?
The famous concept of the criminal justice system is that the nature of crime shows the pathology of society. Same IPC, same CrPC, and same evidence law, but the conviction rate in Kerala is 85.6 per cent while in Bihar it is 6.5 per cent (as per the NCRB report). The problem will not be solved by changing the name of India to India or the name of punishment in law. Yes, the parameters of individual liberty expand over time. In the context of new concepts regarding gender equality and physical relations, it is expedient to bring some new laws or remove the old ones and also comply with the Order of Cotters. There is no doubt that 160 years ago, the socio-ethical values were different, and in such a situation, the power of the state was more dominant as opposed to civil liberties, but in 70 years of democracy, its philosophy has changed. Now the names of the IPC, CrPC, and Evidence Act will also be Indian Judicial Code, Indian Civil Defence Code, and Indian Evidence Act, respectively. Expressing concern over the reduction in the rate of conviction, the Home Minister asked to increase it to 90 per cent and for this, there has also been talk of arranging for extensive help from forensic science in research. But all this is not as simple as it appears.
Nawaz Ashraf,
Guwahati.
Pilot fatigue
A pilot collapsed in the bathroom of a flight operating between Florida and Santiago and died. Another pilot, an Indian, who functioned as an additional crew member on a Delhi-Doha flight, lost his life in the passenger cabin. Yet another captain, ready to fly passengers from Nagpur to Pune, fell unconscious near the boarding gate and passed away. These shocking incidents should set off alarm bells among aviation stakeholders. According to reports, all these deaths are attributable to cardiac arrest or something close to it. The Indian domestic aviation industry is fast growing, and it is estimated that the country may need more than 15,000 pilots over the next decade.
However, due to the crisis in various airlines, some of which have shut down, pilots are presently overworked. Though they are assigned a fixed number of working hours a month by the aviation regulator, the DGCA, they are expected to work more. They work on holidays, too, most of the time away from their homes. Often, they are lured by additional incentives to fly extra. Heavy workloads, physical and mental stress, fatigue due to jet lag, and sleeplessness have taken a toll on them. Irregular working hours mean little exercise and consequent health disorders. It is incumbent upon the DGCA and airline managers to secure the health of pilots through periodic medical exams and, of course, by recruiting more pilots.
Dr Ganapathi Bhat,
gbhat13@gmail.com.