sentinelgroup@gmail.com
Too little, too late
Manipur, a power house in sports was and is burning due to ethnic clashes between the Kukis and the Meiteis for the last 2 years. Both the communities are involved in fighting unto death using arms that are usually used by our armed forces. These arms were actually looted by the miscreants from the state armoury, and the respective government made little effort to recover them, leading to mass bloodbath and loss of properties.
The state government was a mere spectator, clinging to power shamelessly for the long two years. At last, just before the assembly session, Biren Singh government submitted resignation without facing the no confidence motion tabled by the opposition. We all know that there has been actually no political stability in Manipur for quite some time. This resignation ultimately paved the way for President's Rule in Manipur, which was very much overdue to restore peace in the state. One must remember that peace cannot be imposed without people’s cooperation and will. Once the sports powerhouse, Manipur has of late become a breeding ground of insurgent activities.
Sadly, it appears as if the people of the state do not want a stable government for peace and development.
Dr. Ashim Chowdhury,
Guwahati
Monitoring junk food
In common language, junk is equated to rubbish. So, it's easy to interpret the harm caused by " junk food". Bakery products and aerated sugary beverages not to mention of chocolates are the most popular junk food of adults as well as children. Since these are pleasant on the palate, youngsters savour them without seriously understanding their nutritional value and health implications. Almost all junk foods are high on calory and low on proteins and vitamins. As far as school going children are concerned, enough care should be taken to make sure that they are not served junk food in any form in the school meals. Besides, what they carry from home to the schools should be monitored.
United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF) and the Education department of Bihar are reportedly collaborating with the aid of Kobo tools to assess the food consumed by students at schools. Kobo tools can monitor the kitchens' hygiene too. All Bihar districts have been linked by the tools so that monthly assessment and reports are made available to rank the performance of individual districts. Headmasters of schools are also required to upload daily details of food preparation and the type of food served. While the officials have said that prevention of malnutrition was the principal aim of the tool, its transparent implementation without manipulation at any level can guarantee the success of the programme. In another praiseworthy step of the Bihar government, fit to be emulated by others, sale of junk food has been prohibited within 50 metres of all schools.
Dr Ganapathi Bhat
(gbhat13@gmail.com)
Mahakumbh’s final phase; let us be vigilant and alert
The Mahakumbh, which began on January 13 in Prayagraj, is moving towards its final phase, the final day being February 26, which marks the festival of Maha Shivratri.
Definitely lakhs and lakhs of devotees are sure to move towards Prayagraj in the coming days. Any slight negligence, dereliction of duty, and irresponsibility from the authorities side can end up in disasters bigger than the ones that unfortunately occurred at Sangam Point and New Delhi railway station recently. According to news reports, as of February 14, more than 50 crore devotees, including foreign nationals, had taken a dip in the holy Triveni Sangam.
It is obvious that any laxity or fault in the arrangement of crowd movement and regulation at a mass gathering such as this can result in a chain of stampedes and deaths. Unfortunately, everybody forgets this. The recent New Delhi station disaster is proof of this.
According to the 2014 National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) policy on crowd management, it emphasises six main key points: crowd control as a priority, infrastructure and design underlining exits and entrances in case of crisis, meticulous pre-event planning, deployment of tight security presence, medical preparedness, and community awareness. But sadly, when everything is taken in a 'take it easy policy' attitude, even providence will not help. Let all stakeholders, including devotees, be vigilant and double alert in the coming days and see that no disasters happen.
M Pradyu
(pradyumukund22@gmail.com)