Letters to the Editor

Pin Drop Silence

A few weeks back, Rajiv Bhawan in Guwahati, which is the headquarters of the Assam Congress, witnessed an ugly scuffle between two groups in full view of camera over some serious allegations brought by an ex-MLA, Anil Raja, against Congress heavyweight Rakibul Hussain.

Congressmen usually call their party as a party with a difference. But on that day it was a virtual civil war among the party cadres. After the 'civil war', the issue continued to hog limelight as all the local news channels continued relentless covering. As usual, the people were expecting that the guilty would be caught and duly punished. But nothing happened as both Anil Raja and Rakibul Hussain seemed to have hidden somewhere. Rumours are making the rounds that both have made a compromise, and the public was once again made fool. Even the veteran of many wars, Akhil Gogoi, is maintaining pin drop silence definitely due to his compulsion.

Lanu Dutta,

GNB Road, Guwahati.

Panchayat Affairs

Free and fair elections to the panchayat bodies of Assam are a must. Panchayat polls are likely to be held after Rangali Bihu. There seems to be some confusion over the polls as most of the government officials required for such elections are busy in the NRC update work and they will not be available.

Even your newspaper carried a report on this a few days back. One looks for a resolution of this dilemma. Your report said the State chief election commissioner is in a dilemma. It would be good if he were to talk to the government and sort out the all-important issue.

There is a reason why panchayat elections are important. In a State like Assam where corruption is still rampant despite the promise of Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal to tackle all forms of corruption, an alert panchayati raj system, with honest and sincere leaders at the helm of affairs, can go miles in checking the cancer of corruption.

But the first requirement is honest and sincere panchayat leaders. Unfortutely, there are also allegations of corruption of very serious kinds against some panchayat leaders.

People at the grassroots must look into this and save their democracy.

Sumit Kashyap,

Chandmari, Guwahati.

Healthcare Peril

There are reports that doctors from the medical colleges of Assam are either seeking voluntary retirement or resigning because they have got better offers from private hospitals in terms of pay package. It is very tural for such doctors to come out of government service and join the corporate world of healhcare where they are not only paid well but have better research facilities and atmosphere too. This is a serious matter.

If there is a shortage of teachers and researchers in the medical colleges of the State, the first victims will be students pursuing medicine. Are we going to produce a semi-educated, semi-skilled medical course in future? The government should ponder.

A Concerned Doctor,

Guwahati.