Letters to The EDITOR: Criminals at large: A wake-up call for Assam

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Criminals at large: A wake-up call for Assam

We were utterly shocked to learn from a recent newspaper report that thousands of doves (Kapou) were poisoned to death in a paddy field somewhere in Lower Assam. In another equally disturbing incident, a person reportedly laced a pond with poison, killing all the fish within it. These are not isolated cases.

Assam has tragically witnessed many such acts of cruelty—entire herds of elephants poisoned, tigers and other wild animals butchered in cold blood. If people can so easily kill birds and animals for selfish motives, what is to stop them from contaminating public water sources or threatening human lives next? There is no guarantee of safety when such criminals walk free.

These perpetrators clearly lack any understanding of how vital flora and fauna are to our ecosystem—and ultimately, to our survival. Such heartless crimes should not go unpunished. Stronger laws must be enacted, and existing ones strictly enforced, to ensure that those who commit such ecological atrocities are held fully accountable. In the most serious cases, permanent imprisonment must be considered. This crisis also highlights the urgent need for value-based education in Assam. Every child—boy and girl alike—must be taught not just academic knowledge, but also the importance of compassion, environmental responsibility, and civic duty. If we wish to move our state forward, education must be our top priority. A society that does not educate its youth in values cannot hope to thrive. Special attention must be given to school and college dropouts to ensure they are brought back into the fold and guided toward becoming responsible citizens.

Let us not remain silent. Let us act—through education, awareness, and strong legal measures—to protect our environment and secure a better future for Assam.

Prafulla Dowarah,

Guwahati.

Majuli’s red rice

It is heartening to learn from the 5 July editorial: The export footprint of red rice from  Majuli,popularly known as Majuli's "Bao Dhaan," has not only been able to capture markets in the Middle East and the European Union, but its growing demand in global markets speaks volumes about the strengths and potential of the state's traditional rice variety. The rice is rich in nutritional value and also disaster-resilient. There is no doubt that such a property of the rice variety has increased its commercial importance and opened a new window of opportunities for traditional rice farmers in the state. When this premium brand of organic rice has the advantage of drawing global attention to various other states's organic produce, then there is a need to build a repository of traditional knowledge for the cultivation of other similar disaster-resilient crop varieties in Lakhimapur, Dhemaji, and other places.

Iqbal Saikia

(iqbal3107saikia@gmail.com)

Need for school auditorium

The schools of secondary level in our state have many problems, and most of them have been lying unaddressed till today. Though some changes have come into being during the regime of this government, a few major infrastructural works are yet to be undertaken. One such problem faced by the schools is the lack of auditoriums, a dire need. No government or provincialised high or higher secondary school in Assam has a proper stage or auditorium to hold events or functions. They face hurdles, especially when they organise cultural programmes. Students have to perform their programmes or competitions on the temporary stages. In some schools desks and benches are also used to make the stages. Desks and benches are actually not meant for making stages or for heavy work. The furniture of the schools gets damaged or broken. The tent houses also charge high rates. What is more troublesome is the accommodation problem for the audience. Even a section of students cannot enter the hall to enjoy some interesting programmes and are deprived of them due to overcrowding. Classrooms are made halls by removing the partitions. The entire environment, in this way gets degraded and the spirits spoiled. Hence, the possession of a mini auditorium in each school of our state is a vital need of the hour. The authorities concerned and the government should look into the want of the auditoriums for the student community of the secondary section.

Kulendra Nath Deka,

Dighirpar, Mangaldai