Rising petrol and diesel prices and its impact on common people
Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper, I would like to draw attention to the continuous rise in petrol and diesel prices and how it is affecting the daily lives of common people.
Fuel is an essential part of our everyday life. The increase in petrol and diesel prices has made transportation more expensive. As a result, the cost of food items, vegetables, and other basic goods is also rising. For middle-class and lower-income families, it has become very difficult to manage daily expenses.
Students, office workers, and small business owners are the most affected. Many people depend on two-wheelers or public transport, and the rising fares are putting extra pressure on their budgets. Farmers are also facing problems because diesel is needed for irrigation and farming activities.
If this situation continues, it will increase the overall cost of living and create more financial stress among the common people. The government should take necessary steps to control fuel prices or provide some relief to the public. I hope the concerned authorities will look into this issue and take action at the earliest.
Upolodhi Goswami,
Dibrugarh University
Corruption menace
The recent news article in your esteemed daily, 'Rs 3,000 costs ACS officer his job', has drawn our attention.
As reported, the state government has imposed a penalty of dismissal from service on the ACS officer for taking just Rs 3,000 as a bribe. No doubt, the crackdown is a deterrent to some extent on the all-pervasive culture of bribes in our offices.
Today the deep-rooted menace has become such that in many government offices, it is next to impossible to move a file from one table to another without greasing the palms of officials and employees.
Much of the backwardness and inequality prevailing in the society can be directly attributed to corruption because it creates a sense of resignation among the masses, who willingly or unwillingly end up being a part of the corrupt system. Moreover, corruption has a huge social cost as well.
The present state government deserves appreciation, as it has given more teeth to the anti-corruption machinery by giving a free hand to the officials engaged in probing corruption.
One expects that the corrupt are adequately punished.
Those persons who amassed crores of rupees through corrupt practices, their punishment should be commensurate with the crimes committed. Only then will it be a meaningful deterrent. If necessary, the relevant laws should be changed.
Iqbal Saikia,
Guwahati
Uniform Civil Code
A few states in India have enacted laws pertaining to the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
Goa is the only state in India that has a true UCC, applicable to all its residents, irrespective of caste, religion, etc.
Uttarakhand, for example, has a large category of people who are exempt from the UCC in that state.
For instance, a section of women in that state, primarily belonging to Hindu & Buddhist religious beliefs, practice polygamy (multiple husbands), and such groups are exempt from UCC in the state.
Further, polygamy, though it may not be desirable according to many, is practised in different parts of India by both men and women.
Family surveys conducted by the agencies engaged by the government reveal that approximately 2.5% of Muslim men (legally allowed according to Muslim personal laws) practice polygamy, whereas approximately 1.5% of Hindu men (legally not allowed) practice polygamy.
The numbers are coming down progressively, though.
Further, it cannot be said that tribal women do not suffer because of polygamy practices of tribal men.
It is observed that laws pertaining to UCCs are being enacted in different states in India at present. However, the UCC of each state is different from the other. We do not know whether this would turn out to be truly uniform or become complex in the web of multiple laws, giving advantage to certain sections and discomfort for others, even within a state.
D Bhutia,
Guwahati