Letters to the Editor: All Assam Kabaddi Association

The sport of kabaddi is very popular in rural India and Assam is no exception in that regard. Many young kabaddi enthusiasts of rural Assam in particular have taken this sport as their career. India has a rich tradition and history associated with this sport. Our invincible men's and women's kabaddi teams have made us proud by winning eight consecutive gold medals in the Asian Games. But here in Assam this sport is dying a slow death due to multiple reasons. The foremost reason is the incompetence of the All Assam Kabaddi Association, which is the parent body of the state responsible for the overall development of infrastructure of the sport and also to channelize the energies of the budding players in the right direction. Unfortunately, the office-bearers of the All Assam Kabaddi Association are full of people without any knowledge of kabaddi. The president is Bhubaneshwar Kalita, Rajya Sabha MP from Assam who is mostly out of the state due to his occupational compulsion. Occasionally, he comes to the office of the All Assam Kabaddi Association to attend meetings. The general secretary is Alok Kumar Tripathy and the chairman is Ashok Singhi. The responsibility of two vital posts of general secretary and chairman of the association were bestowed upon these two businessmen who are using the august association to fulfill their vested interests. Secondly, one can hardly find any major tournament or coaching being arranged for the players. The association has failed to improve the basic infrastructures like standard kabaddi courts and a proper gymnasium for the players. Through my letter, I appeal to the former players of the state to come forward and take this beautiful sport to newer heights so that sports fanatics of the state can feel proud of the state's teams. It is time for a total revamp of the state association. As long as the sports bodies are captured by politicians and people of selfish interest, the development of the sport is next to impossible.

Pratuljyoti Buragohain,

Guwahati.

24x7 CM

The recent devastating flood due to unprecedented rainfall in North-East India, which was not seen for decades, has left the state totally shattered. We are all aware that nothing stands before nature's fury, as can be observed in many advanced countries around the world where the technology knelt down before nature. Naturally, after every natural disaster follows the process of providing relief and rehabilitation to the affected people. Our CM has proved beyond doubt that he is a CM who is always on the move 24x7, which was hardly seen in case of his predecessors, who usually directed the relief operation from their AC chamber surrounded by Ministers, MLAs and administrative officers. It is for the first time that we have seen a CM very much with the flood victims from Sadiya to Dhubri, and more precisely in Silchar, round the clock with his staff to monitor the situation personally, which has made him the most popular CM of the nation.

Very recently, a local vernacular TV channel known for its anti-incumbency stand raised some issues about CMs tour expenses by both roads and choppers. In this regard, I want to remind the particular TV channel that even the bitterest critics of our CM have started lauding CM's easiest accessibility to the needy ones even in the remotest parts of the state during crisis. He who leads from the front is always a winner. My God bless him.

Lanu Dutt Chowdhury,

Guwahati.