Letters to THE EDITOR: Reverse forecast

Reverse forecast

Precise weather forecasting is very useful to us in so many ways. It helps our farmers, fishermen, those related to tourism etc., to name a few. With advanced technology, the weather forecast has become very accurate. India at present with advanced satellite facility is one of the leading nations in this regard. In our State, we too have a regional meteorological research centre at Borjhar that has been in service for a long time. But the track record is unfortunately very disappointing as 95 per cent of their predictions have been proven wrong due to reasons best known to them.

Drishyaa Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

Maligaon-Kamakhya flyover

Through the columns of your esteemed daily, I would like to raise my concern on the issues faced by the people in my locality due to the construction of the Maligaon-Kamakhya flyover.

The construction was aimed at the smooth flow of traffic and accessibility, but it seems like some of the initial challenges were overlooked. This big project has instead hindered the traffic flow in the entire Maligaon area as there is no substitute path nearby. It has congested the road size to almost a single lane which makes it very difficult for the traffic to pass multiplying the chances of accidents too. It also takes almost double the time to reach any destination which creates a lot of problems. In addition to all of these, the authorities have come up with inadequate ways that do not ease rather create a lot of confusion like introducing new U-turns and blocking the old ones without any notice or signboards.

I would sincerely like to request the authorities concerned to look into the matter and try effective ways to ease the flow of traffic as soon as possible so that the daily lives of the general citizens are not hampered.

Dhanmani Das,

Guwahati.

Peace in BTR

Through the esteemed columns of your newspaper, I would like to thank the Government of Assam on behalf of the entire BTR region for their constant initiative to bring peace and prosperity to the region. After the third Bodo Peace Accord between the government and NDFB, now the surrender of a newly formed extremists outfit's members is a strategic win for the State Government. M. Batha, NIA's most wanted and also the leader of the insurgent group NLFB, along with more than 20 other members surrendered in the Udalguri district on Thursday. The homecoming of these members of NLFB will surely bring a positive message among the people of Bodoland and the overall betterment of the people of this region. We must appreciate the State Government for this effort.

Biki Sarmah,

Udalguri, Assam

Defunct AITA

The AITA (All India Tennis Association) is the governing body that looks after the administration and development of the game of tennis in the country. India has a rich tradition of producing some world-class players like Premjit Lal, Ramanathan Krishnan, Ramesh Krishnan, Vijay Amritraj, Anand Amritraj, Sashi Menon, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna, Somdev Devvarman, Sania Mirza, to name a few who had made their presence felt in world tennis. But very unfortunately the role of AITA in moulding all these greats has always remained questionable. Over the years, AITA has always been under the cloud of controversy over the mishandling of players as allegations are labelled against the body from time to time by none other than the likes of Vijay Amritraj, Leander Paes, Somdev Devvarman. The latest controversy over the selection of the tennis squad for the Olympics has again put forth the unprofessional attitude of the AITA members. Rohan Bopanna has exposed the blatant lies of AITA secretary Anil Dhupar (who himself has never played the game at any level) who mislead the men's doubles team regarding their participation in the Olympics. Bopanna's allegation was well supported by the many former greats and present players. The players have alleged that there is too much politics within the AITA and also the present body doesn't have any notable tennis players. Interestingly as tweeted by Vijay Amritraj recently in sync with the current fiasco, he said since 1980, AITA did not have any member who has a tennis background of some repute. Since the days of RK Khanna to Anil Khanna and the incumbent, all the bosses of AITA were or are big business tycoons completely unconnected with the game. They have miserably failed to hold a minimum number of ATP Challenger level tournaments in India which could help our players to earn crucial ATP ranking points. Apart from that, getting sponsors for the players is another issue where the committee members have failed utterly. Going abroad to play this level of the tournament needs strong financial backing which acts as a hindrance for players.

Somdev Devvarman is a leading example who had to quit tennis due to the apathy of the AITA. The latest goof-up of the AITA resulted in India's failure to send a mixed doubles team for the Tokyo Olympics where we had a strong medal prospect.

It is high time the ministry concerned disbanded the AITA at the earliest and put in place a new body.

Dr Ashim Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

Eateries urging masses to get vaccinated

Through the esteemed column of your daily, I would acknowledge the endeavour undertaken by innumerable public explored locales around the state to nurture vaccination campaigns prompted by the government.

But what prevails exemplary here are the steps initiated by varied public explored locales like eateries, dhabas, malls and cinema halls to urge the masses to get themselves fully vaccinated.

This accomplishes after the undertaking of 'Skyline Dhaba' in Guwahati commencing discounts for the ones who are wholly vaccinated. In the preceding months, where the government was urging the population to get vaccinated as rapidly as feasible, numerous untrue beliefs were heeding the vaccines because of inexact statements circulated on social media.

Thus, this stands as an inspiration for different public places to urge the masses to get wholly vaccinated and an appreciable step for the improvement of society.

Anjali Chandak,

Guwahati

The plight of justice post-Covid-19

The Covid-19 or Coronavirus has captured the world since last year into its ugly clutches resulting in loss of human life impacting the world economy, human psychology etc. The scientists are working day and night to find its permanent cure, but at present, the general masses have the vaccination option to curtail the mortality rate. All the important sectors of human life are working maintaining Covid-19 protocol and social distancing etc. Even though a very important basic human right of every citizen to get justice through Courts established by law is working in a paralysed mode since April 2021 taking or considering the only bail, injunction etc., matters as urgent and a common citizen is losing faith to get justice as the trial Courts are not functioning. Even though there is adequate facility and infrastructure of transparent plastic shield between judges and lawyers, including a computer screen which has been in place since last year as far as the Courts at Kamrup(M) are concerned. The reason for keeping the temple of justice in a non-functioning mood depriving all citizens/litigants of their constitutional rights, especially of course of those who get maintenance and relief in domestic violence cases, is nothing but a serious miscarriage of justice. Hence, the authorities concerned are requested to look into the matters from a humanitarian perspective.

Adv. Md. Riyaz Khan,

Guwahati.

'Guwahati hills to be encroachment free'

The heading of this letter refers to the big announcement made by the Finance Minister in her budget speech (2021-22) to the State Assembly on July 16. This time it is hoped that the government would stick to its promise, as similar promises in the past have never been translated into practice. The Minister has indicated precise monitoring of hills by the government agencies using drones and other technology to prevent further encroachment. In this context, I would like to urge the government first to secure the contiguous areas with border marking and boundary pillars as well as creating a herbaceous border to safeguard the hills from clandestine grab. At the same time, the Minister has also declared a slew of measures for a facelift of Guwahati. Guwahati was selected for a smart city status at least five years back but there is no conspicuous change as yet. The development of Guwahati is long overdue to meet the challenges of a growing city.

Pannalal Dey,

Guwahati.

Ghagor-Subansiri bridge

Ghunasuti was made famous by Rajanikanta Bordoloi through his novel 'Miri Jiyori'. It used to be the only way for the people of Dhakuakhana and neighbouring villages to get to North Lakhimpur before the 1960s. After the Chinese aggression when the Chauldhua ghat bridge was built over Subansiri in 1962, people chose this 78 km journey over the 37 km one through Ghunasuti to get to North Lakhimpur. The reasons for not choosing the 37 km journey through Ghunasuti were pathetic road conditions, as people have to cross the Ghagor-Subansiri waterway which took more than 6-8 hours and the entire journey would end up costing a whole day if a person wants to return. The recent budget proposal of building a bridge over Ghagor-Subansiri is music to the ears of the people of this region. If this bridge becomes a reality it would take only about 40-45 minutes to reach North Lakhimpur from Dhakuakhana. Basudev Than, an important religious destination will also get a new lease of life. The Central government also proposed a bridge over the Brahmaputra from Tekelifuta to Dishang Ghat connecting Dhakuakhana and Sivasagar in 2016 but no work has been started as yet. Let's not wish that the Ghagor-Subansiri bridge meet the same fate. I urge the Central and the State governments to expedite the construction of the Tekelifuta-Dishangghat bridge and to start the new venture of the Ghagor-Subansiri bridge right away.

Noopur Baruah,

Tezpur.

Power crazy

The mushroom growth of regional political parties before the last Assembly elections was nothing but a bunch of power-crazy opportunists. Whether it is AJP or Raijor Dal, they have no ideology but the only motto is to create a vote bank. In the name of the CAA movement, they misled the public by telling bundles of lies and they succeeded for time being in creating unrest in the State. When people understood their game plan they were immersed in the mighty Brahmaputra. Leave about winning, none of the AJP candidates came second and 70-80 per cent of candidates had to forfeit their security deposit. AJP like Raijor Dal is planning to strike an alliance with Congress and AIUDF in the forthcoming by-elections for the four seats. The biggest drawback of AJP or Raijor Dal is that they have more leaders than grassroots workers. This is primarily because the maximum numbers of members are deserters who have been thoroughly exposed before the public. Lurinjyoti Gogoi before the Assembly elections was shouting that AJP will not compromise with the regional character and shall never ally with the national party and more particularly Congress and BJP. Post-routing of polls and dreaming at least to have one MLA, Lurinjyoti Gogoi is ready to go with the Mahajoot alliance. The same is the case with Akhil Gogoi's Raijor Dal when he wrote one after the other letter addressed to the public about his firm decision not to ally with communal AIUDF.

If one analyses the anti-CAA movement in the State one will find that all the leading leaders of the movement starting from Lurinjyoti Gogoi, Akhil Gogoi, Ajit Bhuyan, Mira Borthakur, Manjit Mahanta all have slowly inclined towards Congress and AIUDF, the only difference is that Ajit Bhuyan did it immediately and rest are slowly inching closer to their target. Now one can argue that the anti-CAA movement was the handiwork of some foreign source with the help of Congress and AIUDF who later appointed many agents to carry out the operation. Time will expose many untold stories in near future.

Pratap Dutta,

Tezpur

Bicycle rally to cheer Lovlina

The bicycle rally brought out to cheer Tokyo Olympic-bound boxer Lovlina Borgohain under the initiative of our popular Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma, along with his associates, is worthy of applause, and it will give impetus to Lovlina in the Olympic events. At this juncture, it is the only prayer that the people of Assam bestow their blessings upon her so that the young boxer can bring home laurels and make India proud.

Subhash Chandra Biswas,

Tezpur.