Letters to The EDITOR: Illegal construction on government land

Despite receipt of my complaint by email on August 31, 2023, the Assam Government and its departments concerned and offices of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation, Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority, District Commissioner, Kamrup Metro, Circle Officer, Guwahati Revenue Circle did not initiate any action to demolish the illegal structures built by the the land mafia in and around my residential myadi land plot at Pub Sarania Hillside under Chandmari Police Station, Guwahati-781007 for the last 10 days till today.

Getting emboldened by the reluctance of Guwahati Municipal Corporation, Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority, District Commissioner, Kamrup Metro, Circle Officer, Guwahati Revenue Circle to stop illegal constructions and demolish illegal structures, today on September 11, 2023 the land mafia gang started illegal constructions on the public road in front of my residence by erecting scaffolding to build another multi-storey building on government land under Dag No. 2354 public road under Natun Town Sarania, in Ulubari Mouza of Guwahati Revenue Circle.

I immediately captured some photographic evidence and added another page today to the already sent complaint dated August 31, 2023, by writing a few lines with these freshly captured photos of the land mafia at work on government land as described above, and submitted this fresh complaint dated September 11, 2023 together with the earlier complaint at the offices of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation, Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority, District Commissioner, Kamrup Metro, Circle Officer, Guwahati Revenue Circle demanding immediate action to stop this illegal construction and also to demolish the already built illegal structures and also to clear the garbage the land mafia dumped inside my residence. I also sent another photograph of an arrested GMC engineer with the land mafia before his arrest by the CM’s Vigilance Cell on corruption charges earlier, which proves the unholy nexus between GMC officials with the land mafia in such illegal activities.

I hope that the authorities concerned will immediatelt order to stop the illegal constructions on government land by the land mafia in front of my residence and also order for demolition of the already built structures around my residence at Pub Sarania Hillside on government land.

Arnab Jan Deka

Guwahati

India on a global level

India made history by organizing the 18th G-20 summit for the first time at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on September 9 and 10. The biggest highlight of this meeting was the announcement of the inclusion of the African Union in the G-20 under the chairmanship of India. Now the number of members has increased to 21, which includes 19 countries and 2 organizations. Apart from this, the New Delhi Declaration has been approved by all member countries headed by India. Besides, the agreement also covered the economic corridor. The launch of the India-West Asia-Europe Economic Corridor has also been announced to promote economic integration and sustainable development across all continents. This conference has tried to provide solutions to various problems in the world. India has added to the success of the conference by ratifying the declaration with the joint cooperation of all the countries. This has made India even more popular at the global level.

Nawaz Ashraf,

Guwahati.

Distorted version of Bihu dance displayed in G20-summit

We are deeply disturbed and dismayed to see the distorted version of our Bihu being displayed in front of world leaders at the G-20 summit. Every Assamese felt insulted and humiliated. Organizers have made a mockery of Bihu, which is very dear to our hearts. That was nothing more than a monkey dance. The question is: what was the role of the concerned state government departments (cultural, etc.) in the matter? Were they not involved in or monitoring the event? They can’t shy away from responsibility. The state government should take them to task for their lapses. Now, it is clear that money spent to make a Guinness World record on the Bihu dance with 11,298 participants, has gone down the drain.

My understanding is that the event must have been outsourced to someone or a group that did not have the basic knowledge of Bihu. Normally, jobs and events are outsourced when there is a lack of expertise and skilled human resources in the specific field. We have 11,298 tested world-class dancers at our disposal; why then do we need others help? In fact, a similar type of Bihu was exhibited around one year ago in Delhi too, in front of foreign dignitaries in the presence of the Prime Minister. In light of the above, I would like to add another shameful episode in which Lachit Borphukan was projected in a bad light. That did happen in last year’s Republic Day parade in Delhi. The Assam government presented a tableau, wherein the statue of Lachit Borphukan was displayed for public view. Instead of a hangdang (sword) in hand, a small dah (knife) was put in its place. Apart from the above, Lachit Borphukan’s statue did not have any similarity with his familiar figure available in Assam. Surprisingly, that had happened just after the 400th centenary celebration of Lachit Borphukan in Delhi. The recurrence of such incidents should not be taken lightly. Does the organizers’ brazen display of Assamese culture and downplaying Lachit Borphukan make them complicit in the whole episode? Wise people learn from others mistakes; fools keep on making mistakes.

Prafulla Dowarah,

Guwahati.

Historic G-20 Summit

At a time when geopolitical tensions over the Russia-Ukraine war have created deep divisions globally, the G20 Summit in Delhi has been historic in bringing the world’s most powerful nations together—not just on the question of the conflict but in evolving a new language and paradigm that set forth the concerns of the Global South. The New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration adopted at the Summit charts a fresh course in reforming the world economic order to prioritize the concerns of poor and developing countries.

Jahangir Ali,

Guwahati