Letters to the Editor: Cry for help

Bharalu, a river on its death bed, is crying for help but it seems that the people of Guwahati are devoid of any emotions
Letters to the Editor: Cry for help

Cry for help

Bharalu, a river on its death bed, is crying for help but it seems that the people of Guwahati are devoid of any emotions. It pains nature lovers like me to see Bharalu gulping down tons and tons of garbage every other day and still flowing with all its might. The other day I was just fantasizing the Bharalu in some European city, it would wear a totally different look with glistening waters and shimmering lights and would also serve as a lovers' spot where lovebirds would propose to each other with the moonlit Bharalu waters as their background. Yes it is difficult to achieve this in a city like Guwahati which houses more than 11 lakh people but it is not impossible.

The GMC should take responsibility and impose a fine because we Indians do not want to shell out our money. We Indians are so money-minded people and we are even not willing to pay for a leak. If fine gets imposed, the quantity of garbage dump into the Bharalu will also drastically come down. Another way to stop people from dumping garbage into the Bharalu is to beautify the banks, create parks along the banks. The gateway to Northeast will look even more beautiful if the Bharalu smiles.

Noopur Baruah

Tezpur

City becomes a curse for Guwahatians!

Perhaps now some people might have realized that it was a great blunder to make Guwahati the capital of Assam. Politicians and public were equally responsible to make that happen. Instead, we have missed the chance to have a planned and beautiful city as the capital of Assam, far away from Guwahati. Had Guwahati not been made capital, people from all corners of the state and outside as well would not have thronged the city. Naturally, the water-logging problem would not have been so challenging then. Now we are in such a position that neither can we go forward nor backward. Guwahati should have been allowed to remain as an educational hub of Assam and the Northeast with our old heritages in place.

The Assamese are not visionary people at all. They can hardly think about the future. Our overall position speaks volumes about this.

Prafulla Dowarah

Guwahati

The bulldozer CMs

According to a recent census Yogi Adityanath and Himanta Biswa Sarma are two of the most popular and powerful Chief Ministers of the nation. Interestingly, both represent States which are infested with some very diabolic anti-national forces with powerful political backing from compulsive Oppositions whose trademark is a word called secularism. Both the above-mentioned CMs are very bravely dealing headlong with the sleeper cells of Pakistan.

The recent bulldozing acts by Yogiji and Himanta Biswa Sarma against some religious zealots supported by our sleeper cells have made us feel safe and secure so far in our own motherland. The recent communal frenzy unleashed by Owaisi and company openly against a particular religion, supported by the hostile Islamic nation named Pakistan, is simply unprecedented in our history and it happens only in secular India. The bull must be taken by its horns.

Both the above-mentioned CMs are super pro-Indian.

Joel Goyari,

Tangla.

Blood Donor Day

Every year June 14 is observed as World Blood Donor Day to promote awareness on the need for blood donation and thank voluntary blood donors for their life-saving gift of blood. The host nation for World Blood Donor Day 2022 is Mexico, and the theme for blood donation this year is 'Donating blood is an act of solidarity. Join the effort and save lives'. Blood is needed for all kinds of patient care - from traumas, including motor vehicle accidents to obstetrical hemorrhage to hematological conditions, and more. Provider organizations can play an important role in raising awareness of the importance of donating blood and how it can benefit even donors. Besides creating an opportunity to receive a free health screening, donating blood can help lower blood pressure and the risk of heart attacks. Donating blood can lengthen donors' lifespan and improve their mental well-being. The feeling someone gets from helping a stranger by donating blood is something indescribable. By simply committing about 15 minutes of one's valuable time, one can save a life with minimal effort. Where else can a small investment yield such a great return?

Ranganathan Sivakumar,

Chennai – 600 091.

Desertification

Desertification is a serious environmental problem that is becoming more prevalent. It's a type of land degradation in which fertile land loses its productivity and turns into a desert. It is officially defined by the United Nations as "land deterioration in generally dry areas caused by a variety of reasons, including climatic fluctuations and human activities". Every year on June 17, the World Day Against Desertification and Drought is commemorated. The day is dedicated to restoring degraded land that has lost its natural productivity due to human activities and transforming it into healthy land. Desertification and drought are global challenges in the sense that they affect all parts of the globe and they require worldwide cooperation to address.

Land degradation currently impacts more than two-thirds of the world's population. If left uncontrolled, it will corrode the very basis of our society, economies, food security, health, safety, and quality of life. The enormous demand on land and its resources must be reduced. Despite its commitment to achieve soil degradation-free status by 2030, India signed the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Paris on June 17, 1994. As a result, India is establishing a centre of excellence to develop a scientific plan to combat land degradation, with the objective of recovering 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 in order to achieve land degradation neutrality.

Combating desertification has various benefits in terms of reducing biodiversity loss and global climate change caused by humans. Drought and desertification issues can be addressed to help reduce global poverty and meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on a wide scale. The UN COP15 conference to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) brought together leaders from governments, the private sector and civil society with a target for finding sustainable solutions for land degradation.

According to UNCCD scientists, 300 million hectares of usable land could be destroyed by 2050 due to unsustainable economic activity. The international community has tried for decades to combat land degradation and desertification, yet impediments still exist. Desertification prevention requires both local management and macro-policy interventions to ensure the long-term viability of ecosystem services. It is preferable to focus on prevention rather than restoration because attempts to recover desertified areas are costly and often produce limited benefits.

Krishna Kumar Vepakomma,

Hyderabad – 500045.

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