Need for increased public toilets in Guwahati
I am writing to express concern about the lack of accessible public toilets in Guwahati, which is inconveniencing for residents and visitors. With the city’s population steadily increasing, the existing infrastructure is struggling to accommodate the needs of its residents. The absence of proper facilities has led to open defecation, health risks, and discomfort for vulnerable groups. The city should have clean public toilets across strategic locations, supported by awareness campaigns and collaborative efforts. I request that the administration take the necessary steps.
Spaini Barman,
Gauhati University
Taking the public for a ride
Through your esteem daily, I would like to express my concern about the condition of the Postal Department. One shipment was booked via speed post from Basistha post office on July 28, 2023, to Kolkata, and it reached Kolkata on August 7, 2023. It took almost 12 days for the shipment to reach Kolkata. And this is what we call a speed post. As per tracking, the shipment had been lying in Guwahati for five days without rhyme or reason. When I asked them the reason for the delay, no one gave me the answer. This is the condition of the Indian Postal Department.
Samar Deb
Guwahati-781028
Cadre based
By cadre-based party, we all mean that it relies on its cadres at the grassroots level. The cadres used to follow the party’s ideology by heart and have equal status in all party matters. The cadres always follow the party’s constitution without any hesitation. So far in this regard, we understand that there are only two political parties that are cadre-based: the CPM and the BJP. Earlier, we did not see any indiscipline or infighting within these two parties, but the same cannot be argued at present.
We all know that power corrupts, which proves to be true in the case of both the CPM and the BJP. The CPM’s involvement in corruption in Kerela and the BJP’s recent infighting in Assam are a pointer in this direction. The mass infiltration of opportunists into these two parties over the years has made them totally corrupt, like the Congress. Already, CPM is outright rejected by the voters of West Bengal and Tripura, and going by the present trend, things do not look rosy for the BJP, at least in Assam.
Dr. Ashim Chowdhury,
Guwahati.
OMG 2 stresses importance of bringing about social changes
Bollywood masterpiece OMG, after revealing the truth of India’s current situation of religion and various superstitions that have downgraded our societal value, returns in a very flashy way with its sequel OMG 2 by focusing on a very sensitive yet very necessary social issue that has already created a tide among the people. Being a fan of Pankaj Tripathi, I also planned to watch this movie without any expectations. But after witnessing every moment of the film, I have felt that this film carries some remedial tools for various unwell social thoughts that prevail in our society.
OMG 2 portrays the story of Kanti Sharan Mudgal, a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva. One day, his son, Vivek, is charged with unethical conduct on school premises. After a divine intervention that steers him towards the truth, he finally realizes that his son has been a victim of misinformation and misguidance. Kanti then decides to take on everyone responsible by dragging them to court to mandate comprehensive education. This film focuses mostly on sex education. In some way, it blames the prevailing education curriculum as a whole for not adding sex education, which is deemed necessary for every teenager. It also shows the various immoral conducts of teenagers that resulted from the misinformation regarding the sexual act. It pointed out the necessity of proper sexual education in our educational institutions.
So in today’s context, this motive is totally appropriate to bring about changes in our societal mentality over so-called taboo things, which are creating vague pictures in teenage minds that lead to various unwanted acts in society.
Aditya Ankur Nath,
Tezpur.
Opposition unity
The 26-party ‘get together’ I.N.D.I.A. should get its act together sooner rather than later. Based on past experiences, the people of India are unanimous that a conglomerate of ‘like and unlike-minded parties formed to fight the government at the Centre is prone to crumble like a pack of cards. After its Bengaluru meeting in July, cracks seemed to surface in an otherwise buoyant India. Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP has struck discordant notes, and Mamata Banerjee’s TMC wants its leader to host the flag from the red fort next Independence Day. So, there are confusing signals on the issue of leadership. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi received a timely reprieve from the Supreme Court and has shone on the floor of the lower house in the no-confidence debate against the government.
Despite many opportunities, the Congress leader has not made it clear that he desires to be the leader of an opposition alliance. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has announced his party is not in the race for prime ministerial candidate, though it isn’t clear whether INDIA will fight the 2024 election sans a prime ministerial face. Obviously, going into the elections without a candidate for the top post can be a double-edged sword. The BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave no stone unturned in lambasting the opposition without a top leader as the PM’s face during the election campaign. Again, voters may be left unimpressed by the absence of a “face” in INDIA.
Dr. Ganapathi Bhat,
(gbhat13@gmail.com.)