Letters to the Editor: APSC CCE anomalies

The irregularities of Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) are clearly visible nowadays. The notification of APSC CCE 2020 was released in September, 2020 and the preliminary exam was conducted after one year with a substandard question paper, with copied questions from trivial GK books.

We read in the news that the next notification was about to come but till date, we haven't seen anything related to that. There are thousands of aspirants in the State and the APSC should think about them. The ages of the aspirants are not static, which makes many of them depressed and they stop their preparations for the examination. The irregularities on the part of the APSC in conducting the CCE add fuel to that. It is our humble request to the APSC authority to release at least the notification of the next CCE preliminary examination as soon as possible to show us a ray of hope.

Some aspirants.

Microbes: Boon & bane

Nature is the creator, true caretaker and well-wisher of all plants, animals and human beings. On June 5, we all celebrated World Environment Day to restore our nature and stop man-made destruction of nature. In the name of modernization, we destroy nature and transform the natural beauty to artificial beauty. We are doing research on biological laboratories and producing artificial microbes which become a great threat for entire humanity. COVID-19 is a brilliant example in this regard and now the world is facing an economic crisis for the last two years.

However, nature also takes the burden of small microscopic particles, viruses, bacteria, protozoa, amoeba, yeast etc., which become beneficial and also harmful to others. Without microbes we cannot survive because they clean the environment by decomposing the decay plants and animals. They also play the role of nitrogen fixers and help us to protect our bodies from other diseases, what we called antibodies.

We have not yet overcome the Corona virtues fully, even though most of us are vaccinated. Now, another microbe in the name of monkeypox has come into the picture and become a threat for human beings. It true that its symptoms resemble those of chicken pox, so detection of monkeypox won't be a different. But we should not wait for its arrival and instead take precautionary measures beforehand so that it doesn't turn out to be a pandemic and a life hazard.

It is time for the state's health department to think how to make the people aware about monkeypox or other epidemic diseases or communicable diseases. During the rainy season the chances of an outbreak of other communicable diseases increase. Therefore, the Government has to create awareness and set up more health camps with the help of NGOs or educational institutions with qualified educators, who can play a crucial role to make the people aware about the outbreak of any epidemic.

Indrajit Sarma,

Chiring Chapori,

Dibrugarh:-786001.

USA: I wonder what you are!

Although the US Supreme Court argues that it is a person's right to bring a gun home to protect himself or herself, I feel there should be still strict laws that must be enforced in each state of USA so that children of gun owners cannot use guns freely. Reading the news recently that Joe Garcia, husband of Irma Garcia (24), who was killed in Uvalde, Texas, had a fatal heart attack after the death of his wife, leaving their four children orphans. I literally broke down. I really wonder why a nation like the USA is unable to stop gun violence. The repercussions of recent gun violence – or for that matter any gun violence - are unimaginable. It is high time for a super power nation like the USA to enact sound gun laws that instill a culture of safety for all its citizens. To end the gun violence, I think it is important to hold the firearms industry in accountable and also monitor the marketing and sales of firearms cautiously.

Vijaykumar HK,

Raichur.

World Milk Day

World Milk Day is observed on June 1 every year. It was established on this day in 2001 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to recognize the importance and value of milk as a global food, and to celebrate the dairy industry. Since then, the benefits of milk and dairy products have been actively promoted around the world. The day is celebrated with different themes each year, and the theme for this year is "Dairy Net Zero." This means that the day aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the dairy industry over the next 30 years. The theme also marks the need to improve waste management in the dairy sector in order to make the industry more sustainable. Many may know that India is the largest producer of milk which accounts for 22 per cent of global production and serves as an important source of economy and livelihood. In fact, the pre and immediate post-independence era witnessed India crying for milk. Yet, the country rebuilt itself on milk production in a staggering manner, and the credit for this entirely goes to Dr Varghese Kurien, founder of Amul, who was famously known as the 'Father of the White Revolution in India. It is said that dairy products, particularly milk, were being consumed in the subcontinent at least from the Vedic period.

Ranganathan Sivakumar,

Chennai 600091.