Letters to the Editor: Higher Prices and Departmental Failure

Higher prices and departmental failure

The news headline, 'Consumers paying higher prices for failure of departmental mechanisms', published in your esteemed daily on March 18, has drawn the attention of every consumer in the city and the state. Prices of daily essentials are increasing by leaps and bounds, and the concerned Food and Civil Supplies Minister remains silent. Why? Can't the government see that this is causing a financial pinch in the pocket of the common people? Everyone wants a positive answer from the people's representative. We appreciate the government for providing free food items, free treatment and other facilities to the economically weaker sections, but what about the lower middle class? A person who is earning Rs 1 lakh as salary is paying the same price as those earning Rs 20,000 for the same item. Traders do not differentiate between customers but charge the same price from everybody. The logic forwarded by the Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs department that Assam is a consuming state and the state depends on other states for most of the essential items and that goods go from the traders to wholesalers to retailers and then they finally reach the consumers is not at all acceptable, as we have district task forces, price monitoring centres and other mechanisms in place to combat price rise in the state. But, sadly, today, the customers, especially the middle-class and low-income groups, are having to bear the brunt of price rises due to the failure of these mechanisms. The state's inflation rate during 2024 was 5.5 per cent, while the all-India rate was 4.9 per cent. Similarly, the consumer price index, which was 175.85 in 2022, has gone up to 193.70 in 2024. Where is 'Aamar Dukan on wheels', which was launched by the state government, and where twenty-two food items, like sugar, atta, pulses, etc., were made available at discounted prices? The initiative was praiseworthy, but it disappeared after two years. Now it is necessary for price monitoring centres, set up in 28 districts across the state, to perform their duties sincerely to monitor prices of food items daily. The District Task Forces headed by the Additional District Commissioner of the district concerned must act fast and first to combat the price rise which is continuing unabated, and it has made the survival of people belonging to the lower income category miserable. The unchecked price rise needs to be checked by any means. This is the need of the hour, as festivals are around the corner.

Iqbal Saikia,

Guwahati.

Relocation of ICDS project office

Through your esteemed daily, I would like to draw the attention of the Assam Chief Minister towards the Laharighat Integrated Child Development Project office (ICDS), which has been engulfed by political trickery following the relocation of the project located at Laubhurunga, Kushtoli, under the Laharighat block. It is known that the public, along with Anganwadi workers (AWWs) and Anganwadi helpers (AWHs) of the greater Kushtoli, Laubhurunga, Ni-Gerua, Niz-soharia, Pavakati, Bardubatup and Baralimari areas, have expressed displeasure over the relocation process of the ICDS project. The district administration has reportedly issued notice for relocating the ICDS project from Laubhurunga, Kushtoli under Laharighat block to Laharighat under Laharighat block.

The public and AWWs and AWHs are at a loss following the decision to relocate the ICDS project. It is alleged that a section of AWWs and AWHs reportedly demanded the district administration relocate the Laharighat ICDS project to Laharighat, which is currently running at Laubhurunga, Kushtoli under the Laharighat block. On the contrary, some AWWs and AWHs have raised their voices against the relocation process of the district administration. It is known that the ICDS project office was shifted to Laubhurunga, Kushtoli, in August 2022 following the alleged stealing of necessary equipment, food packages, etc., in which the then CDPO had expressed serious concern and decided to shift the ICDS office to Laubhurunga, Kushtoli. Since then the office has been running under a good atmosphere at Kushtoli. But the sudden relocation has raised eyebrows.

Pranzal Kr. Sharma

Morigaon

Plant-based foods aid weight loss

Debates have raged over the suitability of animal-based food products as against the plant-based ones. "Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism", a peer-reviewed open-access journal, has, in a recent article, said that ultra-processed plant-based food products like soya can aid weight loss. Ultra-processed plant products can substitute processed foods that are high in sugar, salt, and fat and help individuals in shedding the extra flab. Processed plant-based foods like soya milk and vegan meat can have a profound health impact. Essentially, it was found by the authors that there was nearly a six-kilo average weight loss in the group that consumed a vegan diet, including processed plant-based foods. On the other hand, there was no weight loss in the normal group that consumed a regular diet.

Weight loss in the first group was largely boosted by a reduction in intake of processed animal products like smoked fish. Also, a reduced consumption of unprocessed, or minimally processed, foods like milk, eggs and beef, and a considerable decrease in the intake of ultra-processed animal foods like cheese and sausage helped weight loss. This slimming down was attributed to low calories and fats present in the above food products. Additionally, their fibre-rich quality supplemented weight loss. In short, the article has proved that plant-based processed foods like cereals and veg burgers can be part of a healthy diet to fight obesity. Furthermore, the food source and nutrient content of ultra-processed foods determine whether they are good or bad.

Dr Ganapathi Bhat

(gbhat13@gmail.com)