Foot overbridges in Guwahati: Letters to The Editor

Traffic jam is the middle name of Guwahati, the busiest city in the Northeast India. Earlier, common people had to face problems in crossing busy roads in the city. But the four new foot overbridges inaugurated in the city would reduce the problem.

We hope that in the upcoming days more foot overbridges will be set up in other parts of Guwahati.

Tripti Madhuri Borgohain,

Guwahati.

Fighting COVID-19

It is welcome to note that India has registered a significant achievement in its fight against COVID-19 and the total vaccination coverage has surpassed six crore. This is the world's biggest vaccination drive by creating a new milestone to curb the pandemic. The Union government has also coordinated with the States which are the most affected and suggested a five-fold strategy to curb COVID cases. People should get vaccinated at the vaccination centres without hesitation and strictly follow the protocols. This is the need of the hour.

Amit Singh Kushwaha,

Satna (M.P.)

Election and bus fare

Through the columns of your esteemed daily, I would like to draw the attention of the authorities concerned towards the increasing bus fare due to the election.

And due to limited number of buses running on roads in Assam, bus operators have increased bus fares. They charge 30 to 40% more fare than that of the actual fare. They have also started overcrowding. There is also no social distancing which may lead to the rise in corona cases.

I hope the authorities will do something to control the bus fare.

Himakhi Hazarika,

Guwahati.

Cricket obsession

Bernard Shaw had said about cricket that — 11 fools play and 11,000 fools watch. Cricket has overshadowed all others sports. Children are obsessed with the sport and it is affecting their studies too. If we divert our focus and funds from cricket to other sports, many more medals may be in our kitty in the next Olympics. Our obsession for cricket should go. To begin with, ban the IPL. It is more about making money than playing cricket. Cricketers shamelessly offer themselves for auction to earn money. The IPL exploits our craze for cricket. Secondly, we need to stop the live telecast of unduly long cricket matches. It is a national waste. An hourly score during the match should suffice.

Chandan Kumar Nath,

Sorbhog.

Election campaigns

Election campaigns are going on in full swing these days. It is taking place almost everywhere in Guwahati. But amidst that, often the roads are blocked with rallies of mass gathering. I understand we live in democracy and campaigns are a necessary part of the election. But as students, we face much difficulty in going to our schools, colleges and universities. I often get stuck in rallies and have to take meandering routes, full of traffic and at last end up missing my class. If every political party brings out huge rallies frequently, people going to educational institutions and offices will be badly hampered. They will not be able to reach their destinations in time. Through your esteemed daily I want to draw the kind attention of the Government of Assam and Election Commission on the matter.

Aranyani Borah,

Guwahati

COVID-19 transmission

The COVID-19 pandemic is a major threat to global health and economy, and is still an ongoing emergency. The case load and deaths are gradually mounting all over India, especially over these past weeks. But still we see general public who don't wear masks and don't maintain social distancing. Since the Assam Government has made masks mandatory, we find lots of general public not following the rules and restrictions imposed by the government. People joining poll rallies in large number also pose a serious threat insofar as the transmission of the virus. Even the passengers travelling in the local city buses in a metropolitan city like Guwahati are found breaking the rules and restrictions by not wearing masks and maintaining social distance. This is very risky threatening the life of aged people, children and pregnant women. But this pandemic cannot be controlled by government alone. It needs the participation and passion of all the people of India to help reduce the transmission.

Bhaskar Nath,

CU, Guwahati.

Modi bashing

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is never far from unnecessary controversy. Instead of thinking ways to revive his sinking party, he is all the time busy in criticizing Narendra Modi. That is why numerous capable and competent leaders have left the party. His Modi bashing is not new. During the 2019 parliamentary elections he called the democratically elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi 'chor' only to be rebuked by the Honourable Supreme Court. This time he had the audacity to compare Narendra Modi (one of the world's most prominent figures) with Saddam Hussain and General Gaddafi (two of the most dreaded dictators). Such comments have exposed the low IQ level of Rahul Gandhi about both Indian and world politics. This is just a kind reminder to Rahul Gandhi about the 1975 Emergency which was declared by his paternal grandmother Lt. Indira Gandhi. In annals of Indian history, the emergency period of 1975 is a dark chapter.

Joel Goyari,

Tangla.

Rising inflation

The rapidly rising prices of essential food articles like rice, dal, atta (flour), edible oil has adversely affected the family budget of the middle class. The minimum retail prices now are– rice Rs 40 per kg, dal Rs 110 per kg, flour Rs 45 per kg and edible oil Rs 140 per litre. This trend has affected hard the poverty-stricken people in urban slums and rural areas. Ironically, the parties in the poll-bound Assam have given inflation a miss in their election manifestoes. Moreover, other consumable essential items like clothes, children's garments, toiletries, footwear etc have also been highly priced.

As the majority of population is gasping under unprecedented price rise at this hour the State Consumer Affairs department must take effective steps to work out a price control mechanism.

While the civil societies and consumer rights groups can play an effective role by launching sustained campaign on the issue, the media can lend regular space to highlight this common agony.

Pannalal Dey,

Guwahati.