Letters to the Editor: Floods in Assam

The flood problem in Assam is aggravating with each passing year. It has seen new heights of destruction and havoc. The people of Assam have time and again puffed up their jugular veins asking the people in power to work towards a solution but to no avail. It seems that the people in power want something to discuss every year about the flood problem and they do not want to solve it as it would mean that they would not have the flood as an agenda in their elections which works like magic in the election time. The State government's proposal to the Centre to declare the flood problem in Assam a national problem has gathered dust over the years. Discussions and solution searching over the years have only muddied the waters. It is time to work on some of those solutions, like dredging. It will increase the water retention capacity which would be a big relief though it is not a long-term method. The Central government 2017 announced a Rs 400-crore package to work on the dredging of the Brahmaputra river but this has not yet seen the light of the day. There was also a plan to create a 725-km-long expressway using the dredged-up soil, a Rs 40,000 crore project which sounds too good to be true someday. River linking is another solution that can be worked out as a long-term solution to the flood problem but this too has implications as water disputes among states will be inevitable. The problem of flood in Assam is not a one-man job to solve. It should be a collective effort. I urge all the states to come up and help Assam solve this problem once and for all. Are we together?

Noopur Baruah,

Tezpur

Buses-cum-trucks!

About eight buses are daily plying from Mankachar to Guwahati and vice versa. These buses are called as 'night buses' but in my view it will be right to call them 'evening buses' or even 'afternoon buses' as all the buses leave Mankachar before sunset between 4 pm and 5 pm. They pass an hour at Singimari which is 22 kms, then one and a half hours at Phulbari which is 49 kms and finally around one and a half hours at Paikan for dinner, which is justified. But wasting around two and half hours at Singimari and Phulbari only to collect goods, forgetting the comfort and preferences of the passengers, is not justified at all. All the buses have box-like big spaces for goods below the seats. They pile up various local produces like cashew nuts, betel nuts and other farm produces which are being sent to Guwahati. The passenger buses are doing what the trucks should do.

It seems that they don't want to leave their collection points of goods, so long the box is filled up and that will earn them extra money. Therefore, it is taking around twelve hours' tedious journey to go to Guwahati which is at a distance of only 280 kms. Through your esteemed daily it is my humble request to the authorities concerned to take strict steps to control the departure time which easily could be set between 8 pm to 9 pm as they do while coming from Guwahati to Mankachar. Doing so would ensure that the passengers could travel with ease instead of unnecessary hurry and need not to spend money at hotels for dinner.

Ajit Das,

Mankachar, Assam.

Colossal waste of public money

Lately, a shocking account of futile spending by the State Government on purchase of ten super sucker machines along with twenty dump tanks at a huge cost of Rs 30 crore for the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) has been brought to the fore. The super suckers were procured to be used in clearing drainage of Guwahati, but that piece of machinery is not suitable for clearing specific filthy matter of silt and mud from the drainage of Guwahati. In this context, the BJP MLA and former Minister of Guwahati Development Department Siddharta Bhattacharyya revealed that when he was holding the portfolio of GDD the proposal to procure the same machine was rejected.

The blame then goes on the current authorities for ignoring the earlier process of action and they owe an explanation for reviving the earlier rejected proposal that has led to colossal wastage of public money. In the difficult time of flash flood due to incessant rains, these days thousands of families of Guwahati have been rendered homeless due to flood water submerging their houses.

Now the use of proper super suckers was of utmost need for emergency operation in clearing clogged drains and water-logged areas to give immediate relief to the people who have been trapped by water. Amid the present economic slowdown, unemployment etc., it is deplorable that a Government department is squandering public money in such a casual manner. Through this august column I appeal to the Chief Minister to kindly institute a proper enquiry for taking strong steps to save Government money and ensuring that expenditures are transparent and explicable.

Pannalal Dey,

Guwahati.

Tramway in Assam

Since my childhood I have had an obsession towards trams. I often experienced the footage of tram rails in some Bollywood and Bangla movies. In my visit to Kolkata in 2019 my childhood desires came to an end . My eyes had happily enjoyed the tram rail near the Presidency College. Yesterday, when I was reading an article in a magazine I came to know that once upon a time Assam had also a tramway. But lack of proper maintenance, geographical barriers, changing political scenarios led the end of the glorious journey of the tram of Assam.

During British rule, many Saal tree woods were exported from the forests of Assam to the other parts of India. For the transportation of those Saal woods the British government set up a tram railway provisions from Kachugaon to Fakiragram in 1923. With the passing of time, the vast roadway development put an end to the need for trams. Even today, some remaining machinery, engines and stations of the tram railway continue to remind us of the glorious days of tram service in Assam. But due to lack of attention and proper publicity, very few Assamese folk are aware about this issue. So I request to the authorities concerned that they may take some necessary actions to preserve the glorious history of tram service in Assam.

Aditya Ankur Nath,

Tezpur.