Letters to the Editor

Crime against women

There has been a sharp increase in crime against women in Assam. As per a statement made in the Assam Assembly by Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Chandra Mohan Patowary, between April 2016 and January 6, 2018, 3009 cases of rape, 17,103  cases of physical harassment and 9,108 cases of abduction of women were registered in the State. In respect of rape, 1786 accused have been arrested and charge sheets had been filed against 1697 accused, of whom 76 have been convicted. The Minister also said that under the Assam Victim Compensation Scheme, 2012, a compensation of Rs 3 Lakh each has been provided by the State Government to the rape victims and to their families. The monetary compensation offered by the State is quite meagre  to undo the trauma that remains with a victim of rape. Since Assam leads the country in crimes against women, I would like to request the law makers of the State to go  for more stringent pel provisions for crimes against  women than what the Indian Pel Code provides. The number of cases of crime against women may be more than those in the data provided. At the same time, it is very important  to motivate our policemen to regard rape as a far worse crime than many of them deem it to be. It is sad that amid a rising graph of crime against women in the country, women constitute just 7.28 per cent of the police force.

Putul Sarma,

Bamgaongaon,

Biswath Chariali.

Give them chance

APCC appears to be not reading the people’s mood. After being thrashed in 2016 Assembly polls it was expected that some new, fresh and young faces would surface in the Congress. But they are continuing with the same old set of leaders like Torun Gogoi, Ripun Bora, Rakibul Hussain, Akan Bora, Pradyut Bordoloi and their like. Frankly speaking, these are the same leaders whom the people have decisively rejected in the last Assembly polls. If the same set of leaders keep popping up again and again, people are bound to lose interest in the Congress party. There are a few fresh and energetic young leaders who are willing to do something for the party; but the old brigade refuses to vacate the hot seat of the party. Unless they pass the leadership baton to the younger generation the it is highly unlikely that one could see any change in the fate of Congress in Assam.

Apar Sarma,

Barkura, lbari.

Liquor Sale & Bar Timings

Some time back, the Government authorities had fixed  the sale of liquor & bar timings from 2 pm to 10 pm in Guwahati city and other parts of the State. However, one now finds that sale of liquor starts by around 11 am, and continues till late hours in the evening. Apparently, there is no effective monitoring mechanism of the Government in this respect. The citizens of the city expect the Government to respect & implement its own decision.

A Bhuyan,

Guwahati.