Letters to the Editor: Celebrating National Youth Day

From 1985, the 12th day of January every year is being celebrated as the National Youth Day, also known as Yuva Diwas, across the country on the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. He was one of the pioneers of his time to influence the youth of India in his short lifespan of about 39 and a half years (b.12.1.1863 d.4.7.1902). This year's celebration is chiefly significant as the year 2022 is the platinum jubilee of India's independence. In 1897, he told Bal Gangadhar Tilak that India would attain independence after 50 years, which became a reality when our country won independence exactly after 50 years on the midnight of 14th-15th August 1947. He was a freedom-loving persona as he said, 'freedom is the song of my soul'. He had great faith in Indian youths and it is as apt to celebrate his birthday as Yuva Diwas. He said 'man making' was his mission. Thus, the importance of this Day is crucial to familiarize youths of our country with the ideals and teachings of Sw. Vivekananda. He forcefully asserted that spirituality has no conflict with material pursuit; rather spirituality has to be cultivated for existence in man' life journey for perfection in every walk of life. Yours etc;

Pannalal Dey,

Guwahati

True sentinel

Time and again you have proved that you are the right sentinel of the sons of the soil of Assam by your very informative and timely front-page news coverage about the massive encroachment of xatra lands by people of doubtful nationality. The report of the three-member committee comprising MLAs Pradip Hazarika, Mrinal Saikia and Rupak Sarmah by the state government has alarmingly revealed that the xatras like PATEKABARI and RAMPUR are on the verge of extinction due to massive unabated encroachment during the previous Congress regime due to reasons known to all. I being an Asomiya urge the present government to apprise the oppositions mainly the Congress about this alarming development so that person like Bhupen Bora, the APCC president will not dare to enact the same drama of tearing his shirt protesting against the eviction of encroached lands which he did recently in Mangaldai. Those who oppose eviction of encroached lands of Assam cannot be ASOMIYAS at all.

Dr Ashim Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

Transplantation of pig heart in human

The pig-to-human surgery was given emergency approval by the US Food and Drug Administration through a provision that allows experimental treatments to be used when there is no other option to save a patient's life. Here it is a case where surgeons transplant a pig's heart into a dying human patient in a first, and it was a last-ditch effort to save a man's life. The transplanted heart was surgically removed from the donor pig before the surgery on the human patient, pig organs are considered suitable for transplant to humans because they are about the same size and shape. Ultimately doctors have transplanted the heart from a genetically modified pig into the chest of a man from Maryland and it is a major step forward in the decades-long effort to successfully transplant animal organs into humans. Doctors are of opinion that this new transplant is a breakthrough because the donor pig had undergone gene-editing to remove a specific type of sugar from its cells that are thought to be responsible for previous organ rejections in pàtients. The surgery took place on Friday and after four days the human patient is breathing on his own although he is still connected to a heart-lung machine to strengthen his blood circulation and the next days and weeks will be critical for this fifty-seven-year-old man to whether he survives the operation and if he survives it will be a major achievement in medical history and let us hope for the best for the welfare of the mankind. It is worth notable that David Bennett from Maryland has terminal heart disease but several medical centres had determined that he was ineligible for a human transplant. "It was either die or do this transplant. I want to live. I know it's shot in the dark but it is my last choice," Bennett said the day before surgery. The doctors involved in the transplant were proceeding cautiously but they were optimistic about the procedure's life-saving potential, and let the doctors be successful in their mission.

Yash Pal Ralhan,

Jalandhar 144003

Economic scenario

To a majority of people covered the latest Covid surge appears to be the biggest risk factor for the economy at the moment. Well over 40 per cent of those surveyed saw Covid-related uncertainty as to the biggest roadblock for the Indian economy in the near to mid-term.

While the government's growth projections for this fiscal have remained upbeat, the onset of the third wave has prompted most private forecasters to cut estimates. The divergence between what the government says and what economists say about Omicron's likely impact on the economy is quite noticeable. While the Government only sees a small blip to the tune, several economists have said on record that the third wave could hit March-quarter growth by as much as 30 basis points.

In an extreme scenario, if medical infrastructure gets overwhelmed going ahead leads to even more restrictions. Some impact is already visible. India's services sector activity fell to a three-month low in December on slower business and sales as restrictions imposed by states to contain Covid hit sentiments everywhere. Such restrictions could hurt services activity even further in the coming months.

Contact-intensive services such as travel-tourism, hotels and restaurants could end up suffering deeply during the third wave just when they were only beginning to recover. The carefully made wedding plans of couples and families are again going for a toss following the rise in COVID-19 cases and fresh restrictions. This has sent families planning weddings in a panic mode.

Those in the wedding industry- from planners and venues to caterers and band wallahs- are also wondering if it will be yet another bleak shaddi season. The wedding industry has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the third time the wedding industry has fallen prey to the terror of the virus. Almost in every marriage, the capacity of guests has been reduced to 50 only.

Mahima Jain,

RGU

'Surya Namaskar'

The write-up, "Surya Namaskar: An antidote of manifold health issues" (Jan. 13) was interesting and made a useful reading. It was appropriate to perform one of our ancient yogic practices of Surya Namaskar or Sun Salutation on the Makar Sankranti day of Jan. 14. At a time when the entire world is suffering from the relentless onslaught of the Coronavirus, it is all the more significant that we train ourselves to practise Surya Namaskar for the body to withstand any kind of health hazard. Performing Surya Namaskar daily provides a lot of health benefits. It reduces tension, improves blood circulation, regulates breathing, and stimulates the central nervous system. It also helps to gain spiritual knowledge and wisdom, calms our mind and enables us to think clearly. Another important benefit of performing this yoga early in the morning is that during that time the ultraviolet rays are not harsh, and as a result, the skin doesn't get overexposed to the sun.

Ranganathan Sivakumar

Chennai – 600 091