Letters to the Editor: Fight against child marriage

Though technologically advanced, the cases of child marriage are rampant in India and particularly in Assam. Child marriage is a multidimensional problem. Various factors are responsible for this menace, with illiteracy prevalent in poverty stricken areas along with population explosion being the main reasons for this burning issue.

Therefore, I urge the Government of Assam to not only take strict action against it, but also to give utmost importance in the field of providing education even in the most backward areas with opening of modern education based schools, so that the deprived citizens of the our state can become a part of our developing nation.

As a responsible citizen of Assam, I am very happy to hear that the government is going to take very strict action against those involved in the heinous act of child marriage.

Bhushan Ray,

Chirang.

Preparing for monsoon floods

Assam perennially witnesses the devastation caused by the floods. We must take advantage of the time before the monsoon season to implement measures such as building flood-resilient homes, creating evacuation plans, and educating the community about flood safety. We can take inspiration from the work of Sanjib Sabhapandit, a renowned filmmaker and an engineer, who has been instrumental in creating floating shelters to help the vulnerable communities. He calls them 'Mother Shelter' and is made from locally available material. One floating shelter can provide refuge to up to 50 people. The Assam Government should encourage more innovations like Mother Shelter. Government should also extend support to NGOs such as Better Shelter for delivering cost-effective emergency housing to affected communities. By taking these proactive steps, we can work together to build a more resilient and prepared community in Assam.

Nayan Das

Guwahati