Letters to the EDITOR: After Bihu it’s Jhumur Dance

After Bihu it’s Jhumur dance

On April 14, 2023, a Bihu dance performance created a Guinness world record with the participation of more than 11,000 dancers, at the cost of huge money, manpower, and time. Can Assam, a very poor state, afford such luxury to waste precious resources (money, time, and manpower) on non-productive work? Did it help in increasing our GDP? At the end of the day, Bhutan did display a new version of Bihu in the presence of CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and his family. The misrepresentation of Bihu dance has become all too common, undermining its rich cultural significance. There was no need to showcase Bihu if its original form couldn’t be preserved. This had also happened in the presence of foreign dignitaries in Delhi in the past. What we know for sure is that too much of anything is bad. There is a risk involved in going global. After Bihu, it’s now the turn of Jhumur dance!

However, I would request the state government not to spend any big amount from the state’s exchequer for displaying Jhumur. Truly speaking, it is not the function of the government to arrange such events. Instead, state government should direct 800 tea gardens’ management to contribute to the proposed mega event.

Prafulla Dowarah

Guwahati

Banking services and CSPs

With the aim of promoting greater financial inclusion, many banks have engaged local youths as Customer Service Point (CSP) operators. While this initiative is commendable, it is not without drawbacks. In rural areas, particularly within nationalized banks, a shortage of manpower and excessive footfall in branches often lead to customers being directed to CSPs for basic banking services such as deposits, transfers, withdrawals, KYC updates, and Aadhaar linking. Although it is presumed that the RBI has regulated the charges for transactions at CSPs to be minimal and fair, a lack of customer awareness and the desire to avoid complications often result in individuals falling victim to the high rates charged by some CSPs. This raises a critical question: Are banks merely delegating their responsibilities to CSPs, effectively shifting their workload while enabling CSPs to operate without adequate supervision? It underscores the need for banks and regulators to ensure transparency, monitor CSP operations, and educate customers about their rights to prevent exploitation.

Firoz Ahmed,

Salikajhar, Darrang

Wake-up call

The coal miners reportedly trapped in a flooded illegal coal mine in the Umrasngso area of Assam's Dima Hasao district is not the first such case in the state. Reports of similar unfortunate incidents of rat-hole coal mining activities are published off and on in the newspapers, but, surprisingly, no legal action has been initiated by the government, failing which many poor families have to lose their earning members in such tragic incidents. The January 8 editorial, 'Curbing illegal coal mining,' has rightly said that although stopping or curbing illegal mining of coal is primarily a state subject, yet the district administration under whose jurisdiction such mines are remains mute spectators and never expresses willingness to take necessary deterrent action to stop it, triggering apprehension of illegal money trails from such illegal mining operations. There is no need to say that illegal mining sites are generally located in remote areas and have no safety protocols, resulting in the labourers working in the most dangerous and unsafe conditions. The unauthorized and highly risky mining not only puts human lives in peril but also causes enormous environmental damage apart from huge revenue loss to the government. The authorities need to take effective steps for clear-cut demarcation of boundaries of authorized mining activities with clear display of license details to make local people aware of the identified legal and illegal mining spots in their areas and reporting of illegal mining using the Khanan Prahari App under the Coal Mine Surveillance Management System (MSS). What is the most worrying aspect is the nexus of illegal mine owners, transporters, and corrupt officials, which needs to be handled with an iron hand, and erring government and police officials must be held accountable, who allow consignments from unauthorised mines to pass through under their very noses. There is great urgency to set up special courts for providing speedy trials of offences relating to illegal mining, transportation, and storage to curb illegal coal mining, which so far have claimed so many precious lives and brought tears to the ill-fated families. Launching a major crackdown on rat-hole illegal coal mining operations across the state is not only the need of the hour, but it should also be part of the duty of the concerned authorities to end the sad incidents of coal mining disasters once and for all.

Iqbal Saikia,

Guwahati.