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Promote voluntary blood donation
Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper, I would like to draw attention to the importance of voluntary blood donation on the occasion of National Voluntary Blood Donation Day, observed on 1 October.
Blood is one of the most precious gifts that one person can give to another. Every day, patients suffering from accidents, major illnesses, surgeries and other medical emergencies depend on timely access to safe blood. Yet, many people still hesitate to donate because of fear, misinformation or a lack of awareness.
Voluntary blood donation is not merely a medical act; it is an expression of humanity and social responsibility. Young people, in particular, can play a vital role by participating in regular blood-donation camps and encouraging others to do the same. Schools, colleges, NGOs and local organisations should organise awareness programmes and donation camps regularly.
I therefore urge the concerned authorities and citizens to make voluntary blood donation a sustained social movement rather than an occasional activity. A few minutes of our time can help save a life.
Bismita Sarma,
Tihu College, Tihu
Assam EV policy
Assam’s electric-mobility debate now requires an honest stocktaking. The Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy of Assam, 2021, which had a five-year validity from September 2021, was not merely a purchase-subsidy scheme. It envisaged EV and component manufacturing, charging infrastructure, research and development, skill creation, recycling, and 25% battery-electric vehicles among new registrations by 2026. It also identified Guwahati, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Tezpur and Silchar as model electric-mobility cities.
As this policy framework reaches the end of its stated term, the government should first publish a five-year performance audit. How many EV or component-manufacturing units were established? What investment and employment were generated? How much charging infrastructure was created against the intended targets? What happened to the proposed R&D and recycling ecosystem?
The answers should determine the successor policy.
One opportunity deserves particular attention: an Assam-based electric three-wheeler industry. Rather than merely subsidising vehicles manufactured elsewhere, Assam could identify e-rickshaws and electric cargo three-wheelers as an entry segment for local manufacturing.
However, assembling imported drivetrains cannot be called indigenous manufacturing. A new strategy should set measurable local-value-addition targets, beginning with the battery pack and BMS assembly, followed by chassis, body, selected electrical components and, eventually, motor and controller capabilities. Assam does not need another announcement. It needs to discover why the previous framework did not produce the intended manufacturing base and build the next strategy around those failures.
The Industries & Commerce Department, AIIDC and technical institutions could jointly establish a 24-month pilot, with targets for private investment, production, employment, certification and local component suppliers. The vehicle itself should be designed for Northeast conditions—better suspension and ground clearance, corrosion protection, weather-resistant electrical systems and stronger bodies suited to heavy monsoon conditions. Such a product could serve not only Assam but also the wider Northeast market.
Assam already wrote the policy. The next policy should tell us what the first one achieved—and build the manufacturing strategy around what it did not.
Shahin Yusuf
Guwahati
Nari Shakti
In the ongoing Asian Games in Japan, it was the women’s power who first brought an individual Gold medal to India when Neeru Dhanda, who broke the ice by clinching the yellow metal in the trap shooting event in adverse weather conditions, immediately followed with another gold medal in the 4x400 metres women’s relay race, creating a new Asian record too. It was the opening of the floodgate, as it was once again followed by Gold in women’s archery when they beat the formidable Republic of China comfortably. I hope it is the beginning.
Is it not True Nari Shakti?
Dr. Ashim Chowdhury.
Guwahati