Unpalatable tale of Dibrugarh Municipality: Letters to THE EDITOR

Unpalatable tale of Dibrugarh Municipality. This is for the attention of the Deputy Commissioner about how our Municipality is functioning,
Unpalatable tale of Dibrugarh Municipality: Letters to THE EDITOR

Unpalatable tale of Dibrugarh Municipality

This is for the attention of the Deputy Commissioner about how our Municipality is functioning, how the innocent citizens are harassed. We, the residents of lane of Amolapatty are indirectly punished by the Municipality. Incidentally, the Municipality of Dibrugarh is very often in the news, not for its fame but for its notoriety like scams. A representation signed by the residents was submitted to the then chairperson on 31.05.2019 vide serial No. 1975 with Municipality seal. But, it is still languishing in the file. This is a classic example of red tape. Do the officials want that we should grease their palm? They are simply living in fool's paradise. By the way, the representation pertains to a particular stretch our lane remains under water for several months of the year. We sincerely believe that the competent authority would take appropriate step to relieve us front the nightmarish situation.

Ashok Bordoloi,

Dibrugarh.

Hypersonic technology test

On 7th September, Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has successfully demonstrated the hypersonic air-breathing scramjet technology of the Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV) with a flight test from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha. With this major technological breakthrough India has joined the elite club of nations after the US, Russia and China that have demonstrated hypersonic technology. The indigenously developed hypersonic cruise vehicle was launched using an in-service strategic missile and after separation from the missile, the cruise vehicle attained a speed of Mach 6, or six times the speed of sound for over 20 seconds. The test demonstrated India's capability to achieve hyper speed, validating highly complex technologies and the maturity of the scramjet engine. Undoubtedly, the whole event is a giant leap towards indigenous defence technologies which paves the way for India to reportedly build hypersonic cruise missiles in the coming few years. Apart from being used as a vehicle for hypersonic cruise missiles, the HSTDV technology can be used in multiple civilian applications including launch of small satellites in a cost-effective manner.

Phanindra Barman,

Nalbari.

Ban service-charges by restaurants and hotels

It refers to highly irresponsible guidelines No. J-24-9-2014-CPU (pt.) dated 21.04.2017 issued by Department of Consumer Affairs (Government of India) wherein consumers going to hotels and restaurants for enjoying food are advised to approach Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum against malpractice of certain restaurants and hotels charging compulsory service-charge in their invoices instead of the Department imposing ban on such levying of service-charges or even providing column for tip. Guidelines doubt of some under-the-table deal with associations of hotels and restaurants, because everyone knows that consumers go to hotels and restaurants for enjoyment and relaxation rather than fighting for their rights through cumbersome court-procedures.

If eateries are really sincere for staff-welfare, they can increase their wages at their own. Also since there is no limit on served food-prices, they can increase prices rather than adopting back-door route to fool consumers through unfair service-charge. The law must be tightened for incorporating prison-provision for eatery-owners levying service-charge in bills. Rather paying and accepting tips otherwise should be made an offence since gifts and tips are polished form of bribes. Provision of writing tip-amount on credit-card pay-slips must be abolished.

The Central government should go ahead with its proposal to reduce GST on services provided by restaurants including also by air-conditioned ones to 12-per cent slab by abolishing corruption-generating provision of Input-Tax-Credit (ITC) of raw material. Any objection by restaurant-owners against abolition of ITC must not be entertained.

Madhu Agrawal,

Delhi.

Environmental science

The environmental science is currently the most critically acclaimed and the most severely neglected subject in Assam. The environmental science is a subject which deals with air pollution, deforestation, climate change, natural hazard, man-made disasters, water quality, river erosion and many more aspects of human interaction with the environment. The natural hazards and man-made disasters especially the latest Baghjan crisis has made it ostensibly clear that environmental knowledge among the people is of utmost importance and therefore teaching environmental science in the educational institutions of the State is an unavoidable matter. But it is a matter of great despair that despite being one of the most important compulsory subjects, the environmental science is taught in the colleges of Assam by some untrained teachers. As there is no sanctioned post of lecturers in the colleges, lecturers of other departments even from arts faculty are compelled to teach this highly technical modern subject, thus making mockery of education. This results in paucity of knowledge in this topic among the students and inevitably contribute to the burning problem of social insensitivity to the environmental issues. Assam will be at the receiving end if this apathy continues. It is high time to give due respect and honour to a branch of science which deals with so many aspects of our lives that hardly any other subjects do. The government should look into the matter.

Dr Orion Buragohain,

Guwahati.

Kangana VS Shiv Sena

The biggest advantage of democracy is freedom of speech and everyone has an equal right to expressing their opinion, however nasty or offensive it may be for other parties. The BMC is within its right to demolish an illegal building in Mumbai but the hasty manner in which it was done was enough to conclude that it was sheer vendetta politics. More so when the high court had set a deadline of 'no demolition till September 30', all political parties are equally guilty of misusing the power. In this case, the BMC and the Shiv Sena, both did not do any good to their own image.

Chandan Kumar Nath,

Barpeta. 

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