'Nayak' style CM: Letters to The Editor

Nayak is a Hindi movie which is based on the story where the main protagonist (Anil Kapoor) is offered the role of Chief Minister for a day. Throughout the day he made surprise visits to many government offices and found the work culture extremely in poor state and as a CM he took instant decisions which was appreciated by the common people. The functioning of our new Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is very similar to the reel character of Anil Kapoor in the film Nayak. Never in the history of Assam, Chief Minister made a sudden visit to a hospital or any other office at dead night 2:30 am. We are all aware of the work culture of our government offices where the theme lahe lahe is approved. If the Chief Minister is super active then it will keep his Cabinet colleagues on their toes and if the respective ministers are on their toes it will have a direct impact on the government officials and the employees. The fear of getting caught for laxity will drive the government employees to speed up their working style. Getting the Chief Minister's post was Himanta Biswa Sarma's dream who got it fulfilled and being a layman who has observed the person believes that he will do justice to his dreams. He won't let this opportunity go in vain.

Tanveer Mullah Haq,

Nalbari

Marketing time

The State Government in its recent standard operating procedure (SOP) issued following the Covid-19 pandemic situation, has directed all shops and commercial establishments to shut down at 11 am on all days. As experienced, this move of the government is never going to cut down the chances of gatherings. It would increase the risk of people getting infected with the virus. Because, though the time is reduced, people are not restricted. Hence, everyone is convinced to gather at the same time, thereby leading to more overcrowding. In such a situation, observance of social or physical distancing and other precautionary measures also becomes challenging and almost impracticable. Moreover, most of the shops and commercial establishments generally do not open before 9 am and this time too it is unchanged. Therefore, to reduce the risk of more gathering, the government should advance the time for shutting the shops and commercial establishments down to 2 pm on all days.

Bibhash Deva Nath,

Rangia.

Nation above politics

There are perhaps few nations in the world that stand united during any crisis period. Israel stands among the few. As the Israeli forces are battling against the dreaded Hamas terrorists in Gaza a reporter from Al Jazeera asked Israeli opposition leader Naftali Bennett what he thinks about the war. The response from the leader was very prompt. He stated "This is not about right and left. We all stand united. I back my PM Netanyahu. I want to tell Hamas terrorists that we are after you." Now referring to the Indian Army surgical strikes in the terrorist hub of Pakistan after the Pulwama incident the opposition parties mainly Congress questioned the authenticity of the strikes. They demanded proofs from the Armed forces and the Government. The entire opposition that includes Congress, TMC, Samajwadi Party, RJD trusted the denial statement issued by the Imran Khan government. Sometimes I do feel shame to call them opposition parties and wonder whether Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Farooq Abdullah, Mamata Banerjee have any loyalty towards the nation and its people.

Julie Bhuyan,

Gaurisagar

A bridge too far

The story of a bridge that was supposed to be completed within 18 months is yet to see the light of the day even after 18 years. Your esteemed daily on 18th May carried out the report on the front page with a photograph of the bridge reflects the pathetic work culture of the State government. The said bridge which if completed over the river Kopili would be the lifeline of that place but thanks to the negligence of the department concerned, the contractor and the local MLA the inhabitants of the area are taken for a ride. Your reporter deserves all the kudos for highlighting the sorry tale of the bridge which reminds me of the classic war movie named 'A Bridge Too Far' of the World War 2 era. That bridge might be just one of the many bridges that are lying in a half-completed stage across the state. I pray for the early completion of the bridge.

Dr Ashim Chowdhury,

Guwahati-1

Kudos Pijush Hazarika

An audio clip of a telephonic conversation between Minister Pijush Hazarika and a contractor went viral on social media and other platforms. The Minister concerned went for an inspection of a repairing dyke site. He was accompanied by Chief Engineer and a few other government employees but seeing the slow progress work of the dyke he got infuriated. He immediately called the contractor (who was absent on site) who was entrusted with the job over the mobile phone. The scolding he gave to the irresponsible contractor is praiseworthy. The repairing work was deemed to be completed within three months from the date of order but the callous contractor has kept the work in abeyance citing some nonsense reasons. The repairing of the dyke in time is very important because annual floods are just around the corner. If the dyke is unattended then it will bring catastrophe to the neighbouring villages. I appreciate the bold step taken by Pijush Hazarika. Such on-the-spot action will bring the corrupt contractors and other government officers and employees into the right path. Numerous contractors are hardly concerned about the public wellbeing and such contractors should be brought to book.

Dhiman Senchowa,

North Lakhimpur

Grooming boys the right way

This is the time when people spend most of their time indoors owing to the restrictions arising out of the COVID-19 surge. The women folk is the most vulnerable species at the moment. I feel, as s women, we have the moral responsibility to raise our sons in a much better way. Respecting women and showing empathy is a major field that has been neglected since times immemorial.

Ours is a patriarchal society where male domination is still rampant, equality amongst the two genders is hardly seen.

We, as nurturers, just like Mother Earth need to be looked after too. Women shape society, so it is her utmost responsibility to groom both son and daughter equally to ensure that when the time comes for them to start a family, the factor of empathy is there.

Job insecurities, depression, complex etc shrouds many and everyone finds the women as the best punching bag to vent out their inner emotions which makes a home a hell.

Time is still there to shape a society where there is love and respect amongst all. Otherwise, the time is not very far where we will find more women opting to become single parent with their head held high. The concept of 'bahu' or 'ladki as paraya dhan' will become an obsolete concept.

Let us all stand as pillars of strength for each other rather than breaking each other.

With all due respect to the men of our society, women should be treated as the pride of every home. Then only the parents of a girl child will feel secure to hand over the life of their princess to a prince.

Purabi Pathak Barua,

Guwahati