Letters to The EDITOR: Artificial Floods and Traffic Problem

Artificial Floods and Traffic Problem

It would not be wrong to say that artificial floods and traffic congestion are now well-known burning problems for Guwahati city. A similar situation is seen on National Highway 37, apart from the urban areas of Guwahati city. It is worth mentioning that, apart from many industries and factories, there are many good quality hospitals on the national highway. Due to floods caused by heavy rains, some parts of the national highway were completely closed, due to which patients are also facing difficulties, in addition to the general public.

Editor, there may be no need to talk afresh about the problem of traffic congestion in the city. But for how long is this problem? Is this view of the national highway in Guwahati city, which aspires to be a smart city, acceptable? Therefore, I request the government and administration as a member of the general public as well as a student, to take action in this regard for this burning problem has been going on for years.

Jugasmita Das

Gauhati University

Kanaklata: Fond Memories

Kanaklata Baruah is a famous female freedom fighter from the remote area of Gohpur in Biswanath district. She got martyred in 1942, in a mass rebellion against the British. My maternal uncle’s house is in South Kalabari under Choiduwar (Gohpur) revenue circle. Like all other children we frequently visited our maternal uncle’s house with my mother in the eighties of the twentieth century. There we played and listened to childhood stories from one of the neighbour’s grandfather. His name is Lt. Debeswar Bora, but people popularly call him “Dai Kaka”. During the celebration of Independence Day, many discussions were swirling around martyr Kanaklata Baruah. Then our storyteller grandfather Dai Kaka got unusual public attention. We clearly have not understood these things. One day grandfather Dai Kaka admitted in front of our own grandmother regarding fond public teasing in reference to Kanaklata Baruah.

Martyr Kanaklata Baruah was proposed by family members of Lt Debeswar Bora alias Dai Kaka for marriage with him. Fourteen year old Kanaklata was young enough for marriage at that time. But Dai Kaka refused to marry her for her dark skin. Dai Kaka often said “She wouldn’t have been killed if I had married her.”

Arup Saikia

(arupsaikia07@gmail.com)

World Rhino Day: Safeguarding Rhinos

The threat to the Rhinoceros is alarming because India is home to approximately 80 per cent of the world’s one horned Rhino population. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN) has placed the one horned Rhinos under “vulnerable” in its red list (ICUN Red list). Among India’s Rhinos, nearly seventy percent are housed in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park. Lifting of ban on use of certain parts of wild animals almost means legalizing poaching because the body parts of dead animals—bones of tigers and horns of Rhinos— can be used for medicinal purposes though the same has not been authenticated.

The animal’s horns are used for water purifying purposes and as an aphrodisiac—for increase in sexual desire— in some parts. The entire northeast and northern part of West Bengal are always on alert because of their international borders. The “Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV2020)” programme met with considerable success; it almost achieved its aim of attaining the number of 3000 greater one horned rhinos in seven protected areas of Assam by 2020, although it fell short of achieving its aim in three of the seven areas. The programme owes its success to a collaborative effort from all stakeholders. Rhinos need to be protected from human activities, climate changes and floods—major causes of their habitat destruction.

Dr Ganapathi Bhat

Akola

Importance of Teachers’ Day

The world celebrates Teachers’ Day on different dates of the year to honour teachers for their sincere efforts in imparting knowledge to students. Teachers’ Day celebrations are meant to convey the message that we care for our teachers, just as they care for us. On this day, students often dress up like their teachers and teach their juniors in classrooms in the same way they have seen their teachers doing. Sometimes, teachers also sit in classrooms and act like students, reliving the time when they were students themselves. This creates a bond of understanding between the teachers and the students. Teachers are reckoned to be the backbone of society who put all their efforts to shape the career of the students and help them become successful citizens of the country.

For the students, Teachers’ Day is the most auspicious occasion when they get the opportunity to pay tribute, express gratitude and reverence to their teachers for their extraordinary support and unselfish effort in shaping the careers of the students and for enhancing the education system of the country with their unique learning processes.

Teachers treat all students equally and take proper care of them and love them dearly as their own children. In real life, we usually owe our teachers more than we do our parents as they play a crucial role in touching the hearts of all students and light them up with education and knowledge, while helping them in eliminating regret and ignorance. Since children spend a lot of time in school in their formative and impressionable years, teachers wield a great influence on them. In many countries across the world, Teachers’ Day is a special day where teachers of schools, colleges, and universities are honoured specially. The date varies from country to country. The universally accepted World Teachers’ Day is October 5th. A teacher is a friend, philosopher and guide who holds our hand, opens our mind, and touches our heart. The contribution of a teacher cannot be ignored at all. It is not just on October 5 that we should remember our teachers, but remember them all through the year for the role they play in moulding our future.

Teachers play a major role in shaping a child’s life. Since children spend a lot of time in school in their formative and impressionable years, teachers wield a great influence on them.

Teachers work hard to inspire, guide, educate and mentor us every day. Within the world of languages, they help us navigate tricky grammar points, perfect our pronunciation, and stay motivated. They’re the coaches that spur us on and keep us on track.

Jubel D’Cruz,

Dombivili, Mumbai

Advent of migratory birds

Migratory birds like the Cuckoo usually visit us with the advent of spring. After spring, they again disappear and reappear with the next advent of spring. The very same habit of migratory birds is seen in case of our people’s representatives, the MPs in particular. All throughout their tenure of 5 years after getting elected, they stay in Delhi enjoying all the comforts provided by the constitutional provisions, attending party meetings and issuing press releases.

In Assam, we can cite the names of two such MPs, namely Gaurav Gogoi and Badruddin Ajmal, who we believe don’t even know the topography of their own constituencies. We, the electorate, are taken for a ride by these migratory birds. So, with the advent of general election, let us get ready to welcome these migratory birds.

Dr. Ashim Chowdhury,

Guwahati