Letters to THE EDITOR

Right man in right place

I had the privilege to listen to an interview of Chief of the Defence General Bipin Rawat in Times Now channel recently. General Rawat has explained in details India's military preparedness to tackle any misadventure of China which made every patriotic Indian feel proud. India's participation in QUAD naval exercise along with the other members in South China Sea has sent strong and loud message to Beijing that under no circumstances India is going to compromise on its sovereignty and integrity. Gone are the days when previous governments in Delhi would panic and remain mute spectator to China's warnings. The Narendra Modi government has placed the right man in the right place.

Lanu Dutta Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

Accelerate vaccination

In addition to the adherence to COVID protocols, we need rapid mass-scale vaccination to rein in on the second wave of the pandemic. The vaccine is available now. Less than 4 per cent of the population has been vaccinated over the past two months. The nation is yet to recover from the economic fallout caused by the nationwide lockdown in March last. We can't afford to another lockdown. India must accelerate the pace of vaccination to defeat the virus.

Chandan Kumar Nath,

Sorbhog.

Rising prices

Through the column of your esteemed newspaper, I would like to draw the kind attention of the authorities concerned and the common people to the rising prices. The worst-hit are the fixed income groups like the salaried ones, labourers and pensioners. For them even the basic necessities like wheat, pulses, grains, vegetables etc., are becoming out of reach. It is high time that the government checked the causes behind the increasing prices without any delay. It needs to immediately check black marketing, hoarding and profiteering.

Papari Nath,

Guwahati.

Reclaiming forest cover

Forest ecosystems play a major role in stabilizing the climate, absorbing one-third of the carbon we emit every year, maintaining stable rainfall patterns and moderating extreme temperature. But for increasing rates of deforestation, forest ecosystems are under great threat at present. According to the latest research of World Resources Institute (WRI), 30 per cent of the global forest cover has been cleared, while 20 per cent has been degraded. Therefore, considering the importance and necessity of forest, it should be our basic duty as modern and civilized citizens to curb deforestation, help to restore and reforest already cleared land and encourage others to plant lots of trees in the surroundings.

Rupak G. Duarah,

Rajahnagar, Guwahati.

ATM hackers

Through this column of your esteemed newspaper I would like to draw the attention of citizens towards the few fraud calls that one might get or have already received regarding blocking of ATM cards. Recently, I received a call stating that my ATM card will be blocked if I don't take immediate action. Without saying from which bank they were calling, they directly asked my card number which I refused to say. Usually if such things happen regarding our bank accounts or cards, the bank sends an official letter or gives a message in the registered mobile number. After cross questioning the person who called, he trembled and then without entertaining him I hung up the call. Many people might have received such calls or may receive later. So, instead of giving them the card number, either they should be cross questioned or shouldn't be entertained much and directly hung up the call.

Himadri Kalita,

Cotton University.

Clean Brahmaputra

Guwahati residents are getting contaminated water from the River Brahmaputra. The residents are to be blamed for this. They pollute the river with garbage, sewage and filth. The river water is full of bacteria, plastic, chemicals and other waste materials. It is unfit for consumption.

The people have been demanding a water treatment plant. The authorities have not yet responded to the repeated requests.

I request you to highlight the problem in your newspaper and arouse public interest. We all need to get together in order to get the water treatment plant set up.

Himakshri Bora,

Cotton University.

Overcrowded buses

Through your esteemed daily I would like to draw the attention of the authority concerned about the burning problem that the commuters have been facing these days. Due to the ongoing election in Assam, there is an acute scarcity in public transport, including city buses. People have to wait for too long for a bus to arrive. Besides, the buses are heavily overcrowded. The general public tends to travel on top and footboard of buses, risking their lives. Sometimes, old-aged people are seen standing in the extreme sunlight while waiting for buss to arrive. Even after waiting for a considerable time, they have to travel while being deprived of seats and comfort. However, we notice another noteworthy fact that private vehicles increase their fare on their own. Most of the people don't follow Covid protocols, including social distancing.

Padmini Das,

Guwahati.

Food waste

Through this column of your esteemed daily, I would like to draw the attention of the authorities concerned on the issue of food waste. Food waste has been a problem for a long time. The issue of food waste affects farms, the poor, the Earth and the atmosphere. The majority of food waste comes from households, weddings, canteens, hotels, social and family functions. In India, the bigger are the functions, the larger are the parties that waste more food. People trend to fill up their plates with more food than they can consume. In restaurant people sometimes order double the amount of food they can consume, which lead to food waste.

COVID-19 breakdown has created many unforeseen challenges for agriculturists, food producers and consumers. So, as responsible humans we should try to tackle the problem by wasting less food, eating better and adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Jasminara Begum,

Guwahati.

Rahul Gandhi's view on the CAA

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is reported to have said at an election meeting in Boko, Assam on March 31, 2021 that if the Congress is voted to power in Assam, it would not implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in the State. It is good that Rahul Gandhi has regarded the CAA as a bad Act. In fact, the CAA is a one-sided Act, and it would create numerous problems in the country. The indigenous people in Assam have opposed the CAA, and they have been demanding the government to cancel it. The argument of the indigenous people in Assam is that they would face numerous problems if the CAA is implemented in the State. The CAA would give several lakhs of illegal Bangladeshi Hindu people the right to settle permanently in Assam, and this will be huge burden on the people of the State. In fact, Assam is a small state in size for which it dares not to shoulder the burden of several lakhs of foreign nationals. Considering the threat perception, the BJP Government at the Centre should refrain from implementing this Act in Assam.

Maheswar Deka,

Rangia.