Opposition must act accountably: Letters to THE EDITOR

Opposition must act accountably

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has requested members of Opposition parties to maintain their positive support for running the parliament and advised them that it is valuable to be inside the House compared to staying outside. He has also invited Opposition leaders to his chamber for tea who had boycotted the Lok Sabha proceedings and staged a walkout earlier in the day seeking withdrawal of the two farm bills which were passed by the Rajya Sabha. This is a good move towards restoring normalcy in the House. The need of the hour is that Opposition members must act accountably in the parliament and raise their concern about various issues.

Amit Singh Kushwaha,

Satna (M.P.)

Tea industry

The name Assam is synonymous with tea, the world over. But sadly, over the years Assam Tea has been losing its grip over the world market with Sri Lanka getting the lion's share. The tea industry in Assam is in the doldrums owning to variety of factors, one of the main problems being an erratic power supply to the tea gardens.

As reported by, The Assam Tribune (1st August issue) and The Sentinel (20th September issue), the tea gardens of Barak Valley and in Tinsukia district are facing serious loss of productivity due to frequent power outages which have also led to mechanical breakdown of tea machineries. Similar problems are being faced by most of the tea gardens in Assam. As on date running the D.G. sets for production of tea is a very costly proposition.

In the aftermath of the long period of lockdown, the tea industry in Assam is struggling hard to stay afloat and such erratic power supply is making matters worse. In spite of assurances given in various forums regarding dedicated power supply to the tea gardens, substantial development in this regard is yet to be seen. The people of Assam are pained to see the pitiable condition of tea industry which has always been the pride of the State.

We therefore urged the authority to take urgent steps to redress the issue at the earliest.

Dilip Kr. Sarma,

Guwahati.

Chintamani garh

The Chintamani garh (rampart) is one of the many ramparts constructed by the Ahom Swargadeos from time to time during their reign as part of the defences for a military fortification. This rampart was constructed by the Ahom Swargadeo Sudoiphaa or Tej Singha (1677CE- 1679CE) during the early part of the year 1678CE upon the advise of then Prime minister of the Ahom dynasty Atan Burhagohain which touches the Dighmuria village near the Brahmaputra at one extremity and Murkata, Soraguri and Tulasijan near Gabharu Parvat on the other. Though the king named it Laimati-garh, it is popularly known as 'Chintamani garh'.

Quite regrettably, gradual encroachment by people and utter negligence of the government have driven this historical 'garh' which remains an epitome of the marvellous fortification architecture of the glorious era of the Ahom rule to the brink of extinction. The rampart has been shortened by about 28 feet (original height 40 feet) and the width has noticeably narrowed (original width 150 feet). Quite sadly, no students' organizations and conscious local residents have been found to be vocal to ensure preservation of this important part of region's heritage for posterity. It is time the departments concerned adopted all the possible approaches to produce an answer to the problem at the earliest. Also, the various organizations, especially the Tai Ahom organizations should suggest ways to preserve this historically important rampart, else this will remain only on the page of the Assam history for the future generations to be simply read.

Dipen Gogoi,

Jorhat.

No objection certificate

The change is constant, the basic principle of the universe. Change is an exciting phenomenon in our lives as well. To keep pace with time our constitution is also being amended from time to time. But that does not mean that all changes are good for us. Keeping above in view, I would suggest the Election Commission of India to make some changes in their acts/policies. The country, between the periods 1952 and 2020, has made tremendous progress in various fields. The population of the country has also increased by four folds since then. The literacy rate and per capita income of people have also increased by its own standard.

However, the norms to become law makers have not yet been amended. First, there has been no minimum education qualification required to become a legislator. Second, it is an open secret that quite a substantial number of our MPs and MLAs are having criminal records of committing heinous crimes like rape, kidnapping and murder, not to speak of involvement in heavy corruption and fraud. Third, the tragedy for the country is that criminals, uncouth and unschooled elements are involved in the law making process. Fourth, we don't want to be ruled by some stupid, criminals and disgruntled elements. We need lawmakers to be cultured and men of letters. And the suggestions on this count are as follows: Before commencement of election process to Parliament or Assembly, the Election Commission should ask the political parties of all hues, who want to engage themselves in the election, to submit their list of probable 3/4 candidates from each constituency. On the basis of the list the Election Commission should seek NOC, from responsible citizens of each constituency against the candidates who aspire to become a legislator from a particular constituency. This should be done against each candidate irrespective of his/her party affiliation. The Election Commission (EC) should provide formats to minimum 100 citizens (maximum secrecy to be maintained) in each constituency, wherein general information like character, probity in public life, behavior etc can be highlighted against each probable candidate. On the basis of the reports from public the EC should finalize one candidate from each party to contest from each constituency or the EC can cancel all candidates in a particular constituency on the basis of public report. And, if such situation arises the EC should ask fresh list of candidates from parties for public scrutiny. If such process is put in place lot of bad elements can be eliminated to become law makers.

Prafulla Dowarah,

Guwahati.

Fare hike of share taxis

The share taxis operating in the Guwahati city have more than doubled the fares. With the sudden hike of share taxis' fare, the commuters have been wondering if this has been done in consultation with the authorities. These taxis have taken many commuters for a ride without obeying the social distancing norms in spite of prevailing coronavirus pandemic.

I would like to request the authorities concerned, the government to look into the matter and take appropriate steps in regard to fare hike as well as disobeying norms of social distancing.

Putul Sarma,

Biswanath Chariali

Reconsider farm bills

Agriculture is a State subject. These farm ordinances are against the federal spirit of the Constitution. There is no assurance of MSP outside APMC. It is the duty of the government to address the grievances and apprehensions of farmers. Simply making statements in favour of the bills is not sufficient. All the provisions in the bills favouring the farmers should be brought out in the public domain. Farmers must be convinced how they are going to be benefited. The foremost question is, how is a farmer free to sell his produce anywhere in India? What is the purchase mechanism envisaged in these bills? Who will purchase and fix the rates? How will the MSP be protected? If the government answers these questions, it will be able to tackle the situation. These bills must be reconsidered and the government should listen to farmers.

Chandan Kumar Nath,

Sorbhog.