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Tea workers’ wage
While the aroma of Assam tea travels across the world, the silent struggles of the hands that produce it often remain confined within the tea gardens. The recent announcement regarding a phased increase in the wages of tea workers has therefore drawn widespread attention and renewed hope among lakhs of tea garden families. For decades, Assam's tea workers have been carrying on the legacy of a two-hundred-year-old industry that forms the pride, identity, and economic backbone of the state. The NDA government has stated that during the past ten years it has worked for the holistic welfare of tea workers and has now pledged under #NDA3.0 to gradually raise their daily wages to Rs 500. As highlighted in the announcement, workers in the Brahmaputra Valley received a wage increase of Rs 280 between 2021 and 2026, while workers in the Barak Valley received an increase of Rs 258. The government has further promised to continue the hike in phases during the 2026-2031 period until the Rs 500 target is achieved.
Undeniably, the tea community deserves a life of dignity and security. However, wages alone cannot transform their condition unless accompanied by quality healthcare, better housing, education, sanitation, women's welfare, and proper social protection. The tea tribes have contributed immensely to Assam's growth for generations, yet many families still live with hardship and uncertainty. Development should therefore not remain limited to promises and political slogans; it must reach every labour line and every household in reality. The true strength of Assam's tea industry does not lie merely in its global market value but in the resilience and sacrifice of the workers behind every leaf. The day their children can dream without poverty and their families can live with dignity, only then will Assam's tea legacy taste truly complete.
Dipen Gogoi,
Teok, Jorhat
neet question leak
The question paper leak and subsequent cancellation of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) are shameful, bewildering and disappointing. Due to a few unscrupulous elements, the hard work of lakhs of talented students has gone down the drain. That nearly 22 lakh students vied for over 2 lakh MBBS and allied courses reveals the intense competition involved in becoming a doctor. Earlier, in an unrelated case relating to the CBSE exam paper leak, the Supreme Court had said that exams can be termed null and void even if one student stands to gain illegally.
However, the National Testing Agency (NTA) cannot shy away from its responsibilities in conducting several tests, including the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for engineering mainstream. It is accountable to students who are left stranded due to their disrupted plans. Of course, it is not the first time that question papers of major tests have been leaked. In the past, papers from the CBSE, the All India Engineering Test, and others have leaked. But the NTA's failure to put in place a foolproof system by learning from others is mystifying.
Dr Ganapathi Bhat,
(gbhat13@gmail.com)