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Gas at a crossroads
What is the point of laying pipelines of prosperity when the price of gas threatens to choke the very industries they are meant to energise?
The widening chasm between domestic and imported natural gas prices is casting a pall over Assam’s ambitious expansion of piped natural gas (PNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) networks. With imported gas costing around USD 13 per MMBtu, compared with approximately USD 7 for domestic gas, commercial and industrial consumers are caught in a fiscal vise. Although the administered pricing mechanism (APM) cushions domestic consumers and certain priority sectors against international price volatility, commercial establishments largely remain out in the cold. This discriminatory pricing architecture could stymie industrialisation, erode competitiveness and render gas distribution financially untenable. Small enterprises, already grappling with a plethora of operational exigencies, may ultimately have to bite the bullet or switch to cheaper, more polluting fuels.
The government must urgently iron out these distortions by rationalising gas allocation, ensuring transparent pricing and extending targeted relief to vulnerable industries. Simultaneously, Assam must ramp up indigenous gas production, strengthen distribution infrastructure and wean itself off excessive dependence on imported liquefied natural gas.
Energy security cannot be built on a foundation of prohibitive prices. Policymakers must connect the dots between affordability, industrial viability and environmental sustainability before the present impasse snowballs into a larger economic predicament. Otherwise, Assam’s gas revolution may go up in smoke, leaving behind pipelines of promise but an economy running on empty.
Dipen Gogoi,
Jorhat
Transformer safety at Namghar
Through the columns of your esteemed daily, I would like to draw the attention of the concerned authorities to the absence of protective iron grill fencing around a transformer located in front of Sri Sri Basudev Namghar in Hindumaizali village under Kamalpur LAC in Kamrup district.
The transformer, under the jurisdiction of the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL), Baihata Chariali Electrical Sub-Division, remains exposed without adequate safety fencing. This poses a potential electrical hazard to devotees visiting the Namghar, children and local residents. Accidental contact with the transformer or its electrical components could lead to a serious accident.
Considering the regular gathering of devotees at the Namghar, ensuring electrical safety in the surrounding area is essential. Installing proper iron grill fencing around the transformer would help prevent accidental contact and reduce the risk of electrical accidents.
I, therefore, request the concerned APDCL authorities to take the necessary steps to install protective fencing around the transformer at the earliest in the interest of public safety.
Heramba Nath,
Kamrup
Generational shift towards girls
“My Voice, Our Equal Future”, “Girl Force: Unscripted and Unstoppable” and “End Child Marriage and Invest in Girls’ Rights” are not just catchphrases but powerful messages marking the International Day of the Girl Child over the years. A girl’s rights to safety, security, sanitation, health and employment, as a means of empowerment, need no special mention.
The despicable practice of child marriage, though reportedly on the decline in India, can only be said to have faded into the background. On a brighter note, girls nowadays are focused on their careers, knowing well what financial independence can do for their morale. That, in itself, is a bold statement, emanating from a country steeped in tradition and characterised by conservatism. Breaking the shackles of India’s patriarchal society is a formidable challenge, but Indian women are doing so regularly. In a welcome shift, more and more couples are bucking the trend of adopting boys and are now preferring girls. However, the greater availability of girls for adoption may also be due to increasing rates of abandonment. A generational shift in attitudes is needed.
Dr Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
(gbhat13@gmail.com)
Most unbecoming
We are usually made to understand that a sitting judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court is not supposed to comment in his personal capacity on politically sensitive issues that are sub judice.
Unfortunately, this was not the case with a Supreme Court judge hailing from Assam, who broke the protocol by commenting on the CEC issue on a public platform. The issue has been rocking the nation politically. By doing so, the said Supreme Court judge has simply exposed his political leanings, which is very disturbing. This is a very disturbing trend, as it has made us suspicious of the neutrality of our judicial system.
Most unbecoming, indeed.
Dr Ashim Chowdhury,
Guwahati