Joys of monsoon: Letters to The Editor

Lost are the days when children used to make their vessels and let them sail in the streams of laughter and joy. Paper boats used to be a tradition of the monsoon season. Children would make boats out of different coloured paper and some would even sketch beautiful art on them. I still remember that I couldn't make boats out of paper; crafts were never my forte, my dad used to make them for me after hours of pestering him. I would go to the field in front of us and would swim in the joys of being a sailor. Sometimes I also came across boats made by other kids, some had names written on them and some had sketched. These little joys have almost disappeared from the book of joys. Children are now more into playing indoor games on computers and mobile phones. My 4-year-old nephew is always busy playing games and watching cartoon videos on mobile phones. For this, we have to take the blame as we have not introduced them to these joys. I urge the parents to take the initiative in introducing these things to their children before these things end up in storybooks.

Noopur Baruah,

Tezpur.

Global Cybersecurity Index 2020

In the recently-released fourth edition of Global Cybersecurity Index 2020 (GCI), India has climbed 37 places than that of the previous edition to rank as the 10th best country in the world on key cybersecurity parameters. GCI is released by the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies – International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The index is a trusted reference that measures the commitment and progress of nations to cybersecurity at a global level. In the index, each country has been measured based on performance on five pillars – legal measures, technical measures, organizational measures, capacity development and cooperation and then aggregated to an overall score. The US has topped the index followed by the UK and Saudi Arabia sharing the second spot, while Estonia has been ranked the third. India has also secured the fourth spot in the Asia-Pacific region with a total score of 97.49 points from a possible maximum of 100 points. India's neighbours China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal have been ranked 33, 79, 53 and 94 respectively.

In the world of fast-growing digitalization and the internet, cybersecurity is a vital issue of concern as the number of cyberattacks at all domains is increasing manifold. Despite many praiseworthy steps taken by the government and cybersecurity agencies, India faces lakhs of cyber attacks every year and the number is increasing after the COVID-19 pandemic. With easy access to the internet, digital safety and digital literacy on the ground are vital to prevent data breaches and cyber-attacks. Moreover, it is quite worrying that cyberspace is becoming a new ground of warfare and terrorism which can only be prevented through proper global coordination.

Phanindra Barman,

Nalbari.

Preserve the
heritage building

Tezpur Government Higher Secondary School is one of the premier and distinguished educational institutions of Assam. It was established in 1868 during the British era. It has a glorious past of 150 years. The doyens of Assamese nation and cultures like Kalaguru Bishnu Prasad Rabha, Rupkonwar Jyotiprasad Agarwala, Dr Bhupen Hazarika and many other notable personalities were the outcome of this school where famous Assamese litterateur Dandinath Kalita was among the teachers.

It has been playing a pivotal role in the socio-cultural and educational field of the north bank of the Brahmaputra from its inception. As with the school, the old building of the school is also a part of its glorious past. Many legends of the State used to learn their lessons in this heritage building and their footprints are felt still inside it. But now the condition of the building is very pathetic and deplorable. The school authority started to break this old building during the past years to start a new construction therein. Some sections of the people including former students of the school vehemently opposed it and lastly the Supreme Court ordered the school authority to stop its move.

I, as an ex-student, urge the government and the authority concerned to take some immediate steps to preserve the building properly as our heritage and past glory.

Aditya Ankur Nath,

Tezpur.

Akhil's antics

Sometime back while watching a local vernacular TV channel, I had the misfortune of watching and hearing our new MLA from Sivasagar, Akhil Gogoi delivering a 15-minute-long lecture on the floor of the Assembly by highlighting his plans to uplift Sivasagar as one of the most sought-after tourist spots of the world.

But as a simple taxpaying citizen, I shudder to recap that it was the same Akhil Gogoi who during the peak of the anti-CAA stir destroyed the State's tourism industry including his constituency Sivasagar by resorting to all sorts of vandalism with people of suspected nationalities. I, being a bonafide citizen of Assam, demand to know about the exact nature of his prolonged illness for which he occupied a deluxe cabin of the GMCH for more than a year at the expense of taxpayers' money. For the general public's information, your history is very dubious and by this time it has become an open book for all.

Himadri Chekanidhara,

North Lakhimpur.

Default by tea managements

My attention was drawn to your front-page headline in Wednesday's edition stating 'Tea managements owe Rs 222 crore to workers'.

This gives the impression that this amount of default is due to different owners of tea gardens in Assam. This is completely untrue and grossly unfair to all the tea managements, except one, who despite extremely stressed and trying times have not deprived their workers of their dues. From an inspection of the names of the defaulting tea gardens as has been stated in the news item to be informed to the Assam Assembly by Labour Welfare Minister Sanjay Kishan, all of these 15 tea gardens are owned by Assam Tea Corporation Ltd. which is an Assam government PSU. This reminds me of the Bengali adage "Joto dosh Nondo Ghosh".

Ranjit Chaliha,

Guwahati.

What to do?

The pro-activeness of State police forces in the last two months or so in tackling crimes and criminals is laudable. The police department has all the information of crimes taking place inside the State but the zeal to deal with them with iron fists were missing due to many factors, including political pressure and the hand in the glove of a few policemen with the crime network. Now, the present dispensation has given free hand to police forces to bust the crime network and reduce the crime rate in the State. This has resulted in hardcore criminals running for cover. However, the politics over police actions against criminals have started. Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi recently condemned police actions citing violations of human rights. Now, the same Akhil Gogoi sometime back accused the police department of sitting idle because during that period crime graph was heading north. The same is with Rajya Sabha MP Ajit Kumar Bhuyan who recently wrote in his Facebook blog criticizing the State police department.

Julie Bhuyan,

Gaurisagar.

Population boom

The population boom across the globe has become a matter of great concern for all. India is one of the worst sufferers in this regard where despite our family planning efforts our nation has not been able to tackle this problem due to various reasons. Due to the massive population explosion among a particular religious linguistic community in Assam and West Bengal, the survival of indigenous folks is at stake. The massive demographic changes taking place in western and central Assam is also creating a law-and-order situation in the State as we have seen more than 90 per cent of all sorts of crimes are committed by the people belonging to that particular community. The recent steps taken by the government at Dispur to tackle this burning issue are very timely else the writings are very much written on the walls. It is almost a now-or-never-like situation for us.

Joel Goyari,

Tangla.

Rape and murder

When someone is raped and killed, his/her entire family suffers. In case the victim is the sole bread earner then it's a great loss for the family. Rape victims often commit suicide out of shame. They suffer from both mental and physical trauma. Unfortunately, some people blame the victim for the reason of being molested or raped without going through the fact. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has been taking staunch action against gruesome and nefarious acts like rape and murder. This will act as a deterrent against such crime in society. In addition, it enhances a sense of security among people.

Phanseng Singphoo,

Jorhat.

New method to identify viruses

A team of scientists, including researchers from the University of Osaka, Japan, have developed a new way to identify viruses more precisely. This innovation will help in the rapid detection and treatment of COVID-19, according to a report in the journal ACS Sensors. The method uses an algorithm to identify the electrical current passing through the silicon nanopore. A compound called silicon nitride is made into a 50-nanometer thick ultra nanopore. That layer is hung in a very thin slice of silicon. Now when voltage is applied to the liquid on either side of the slice, ions flow through the nanopore. The method is called electrophoresis in chemical language.

According to the research of scientists, the motion of ions can be controlled by the electric current they generate. When a virus enters through the nanopore, it prevents some ions from entering through the pores. And as a result, the flow of electricity is interrupted for a short period. With the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) this transient dip of electric current can be applied to identify the size, shape, volume, nature etc. of the particle. With the help of this method, scientists have been able to identify pathogens such as Adenovirus, Influenza A, and Influenza B in addition to the COVID-19 virus.

According to scientists, this method is faster than current test equipment such as PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) or antibody-based screens and does not require any expensive chemical reagents.

The invention of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the greatest contributions of science and scientists towards the human race. We must all acknowledge this. We sincerely salute the scientists for this great invention.

Heramba Nath,

Kamrup.

Akhil Gogoi's
purpose

After getting an absolute majority in Assam 2021 Assembly election, the BJP-led coalition government has almost harrowed the Opposition to a powder that can be blown away by a mild wind. But the release of Akhil Gogoi from jail gives a morale boost to the shattered Opposition to fight against some genuine issues which are imposed by the government and which are against the interest of the common people. But what we have noticed is that sometimes Akhil Gogoi is in dilemma about what issue he should raise before the government and she should not. As he is a newcomer to the Assam Assembly, he should abide by the rules and regulations of the lawmaking House. Instead what it seems that he jumps from one issue to another issue and for what he is often laughed at by the ruling party. So, he should be more cautious and he should delve deep into issues before questioning the government. He has the potentiality and his genuine words can work like thunderbolts to make the government aware of their wrong policies. He should avoid the words of sheer imagination and be more practical before raising any issue. Of course, proper guidance can turn him from a stone to a diamond.

Harsha Mohan Sarma,

Nalbari.

Shame on English supporters

In the just-concluded Euro 2020, Italy held the nerve to beat England in penalties. The final which was followed by a record number of viewers across the globe were subjected to a seesaw battle on the field. The match was played in iconic Wembley Stadium with a full house without any COVID protocols. Hardly 1 per cent of people wore masks and the word social distancing went for a six. After the match got over the dejected English supporters resorted to vandalism which included attacking the Italian fans. The British people are considered to be one of the most disciplined people but their conduct nullified that conception. Most interestingly, BBC, which is always on the lookout to defame India, be it during Kumbh Mela or during the election time as the super spreader of COVID-19, this time remained a mute spectator as if nothing had happened. The world saw how much devastation the COVID-19 did to England but BBC doesn't have time to broadcast the truth. The night of July 11 has every potential to be a super spreader of the COVID-19 in Europe.

The rowdy English fans indulged inventing racial abuses on their players who missed the penalty kicks in the shootout. The mentality of the English people of the Churchill era and that of the present day is immense.

On the same day, Brazil lost to arch-rival Argentina in Rio in the final game of Copa America but the Brazilian supporters never indulged in vandalism. English football crowds can be best compared with Pakistani cricket fans; poor losers.

Dhiman Senchowa,

North Lakhimpur.