Letters to THE EDITOR: Hima Das' feat

Hima Das' feat

It is a proud moment for the Country and specially for Assam that Ms. Hima Das won a Gold medal in 400-metre race at the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championship in Finland on Thursday. She is the first Indian to win a medal in a global track event.

However, Hima has more potential and her potential must be harnessed to the fullest. She should stay focussed and determined, and start practising even harder. It should be the duty of her coache and her close circle to keep her insulated so that success does not go into her head and she is able concentrate on the job at hand. In Hima Das, India and Assam, definitely, has a world champion and a prospective Olympic medal winner.

In Assam, we have a tendency to overdo glorification of people who achieve certain level of success, by organizing a series of felicitation programs/functions, which may, in fact, harm the person in the short or long term. People, including those in the Government, must realize that what Hima really needs is enough encouragement and support in her pursuit, instead of felicitation programs.

Hima's parents/guardians, and specially her coach must ensure that her hunger for higher level of performance keeps her motivated continuously.

Ashim Bhuyan,

Guwahati.

Radha Kumari, Lalima Devi and Indian Railway

Travel in train by women is no longer safe and the serial and brutal killing of Radha Kumari, a promising brilliant student of the Assam Agriculture University and Lalima Devi Singh, a housewife after being raped lay bare the hollowness of the safety measures introduced by the Indian Railways for women in this part of the country. Certain questions keep haunting us - why all the stations and compartments of the train cannot be equipped with CC TV cameras. The culprit Bikash Das and one of his accomplices was arrested. Bikash Das(Bubu) was seen boarding the compartment where Lalima Devi too boarded in the compartment meant for differently-able persons. The entire phenomenon was caught in the CC TV camera installed in the Tinsukia station and taking the clue the police arrested him and on marathon interrogation the truth came to light as he confessed to having committed the crime. Had the Railway compartments been equipped with CC TV camera, the detection would have been easier. It may be mentioned that Indian Railways has an agenda to chalk out ambitious plan to improve its functioning and has spelt out many mega projects involving cores of rupees. The Railways even approached LIC for a hefty amount to execute the ambitious projects and with this view could gain statutory authority to arrange a separate budget session exclusively for it. Nevertheless, it forgets its uppermost ethical obligation to take safety measures for women travelling in the trains. Piyush Goel, the Union Railway Minister, meanwhile did enough harm to the unemployed youths of the North-east by refusing regrouping of Recruitment centre, separating it from Bihar and West-Bengal. Another matter of injustice is neglecting Assam as far as safety of women passengers in the trains is concerned in a show of double-standard by all the Union ministers to the North-east.

Ashoke Bordoloi,

Dibrugarh.