Letters to the EDITOR: Missed Opportunity

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Missed opportunity

30 regional organisations of Upper Assam created a golden opportunity for the local unemployed youths of the region to fill the void created in the aftermath of the exodus of Miyas in Upper Assam. Firstly, regional organisations called for boycott of fish from Nagaon and Morigaon in Upper Assam, which continued for some time. But after a certain period of time, fish from central Assam districts of Nagaon and Morigaon again filled the markets. During the boycott period, regional organisations along with local residents claimed that imported fish contain high doses of urea, which is very detrimental to the health. Now all the hullabaloo went up in smoke as all are silent, including the 30 regional organisations, because the temporary vacuum created by the ban on imported fish could not be filled up by the local production. Similarly, there was a big opportunity for the local youth to work on the brick kilns as Miyas were chased away by various groups. Now the owners of those brick kilns are appealing to the CM to save them from the present dire situation, as no local youths have turned up to work in brick kilns. In the coming days, the entire labour force in upper Assam would be dominated by Miyas, like earlier. Unless indigenous youths of the state develop a work culture, it is impossible to fight with people of east Pakistani origin. Merely shouting ‘Jai Aai Asom’ on the streets will lead us nowhere.

Pratap Dutta,

Tezpur.

Hazard of cattle ropes

Village roads have become risky for the vehicles, especially the two-wheelers, in the season of paddy cultivation. The cattle tied to the ropes have caused many road accidents in Darrang district. Very recently, a young priest of Kaporpuri temple in the Sipajhar area died in a serious accident on the road after his vehicle snagged on a cattle rope. He could not see the rope on the road while travelling in his vehicle and met his fatal end. Cattle ropes on roads cannot be noticed from a distance and have proved to be the fatal traps for some people, and they become victims. Sometimes the cattle lift their ropes and make them tighten at the time of crossing from behind the roadside shrubs. In rural areas, most farmers use roads to feed their cattle on roadside grasses, tying them with long ropes for the want of fodder and grazing lands. Crop fields are not free in this season due to paddy cultivation, and it's not possible to keep the cattle there. The authorities concerned should take measures on the hazard of cattle ropes on roads to check road accidents.

Kulendra Nath Deka

Dighirpar, Mangaldai

Award for Mithunda

Veteran actor Gourang Chakraborty, popularly known by his stage name Mithun Chakraborty, star of films such as Mrigayaa, Surakshaa, Disco Dancer, and Dance Dance, was on Monday named the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the government’s highest recognition in the field of cinema. Not only as an actor, but he is also a singer, producer, writer, social worker, and entrepreneur. He is also active in politics and is a former Rajya Sabha Member. Also, this is the first time in India's film world that the announcement comes months after Mithunda, a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was awarded Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour, by the Government of India. Mithunda had started his career in the year 1976 (with Mrinal Sen's 1976 film "Mrigayaa,"  for which he won his first National Film Award for Best Actor). He earned two more National Awards for 1992's "Tahader Katha" (best actor) and 1998's "Swami Vivekananda" (best supporting actor), but there was a point where he thought he would only end up doing B-grade films. He had earlier said how actresses refused to work with him due to his dark skin colour; Zeenat Aman broke his 'panauti' tag, and he started getting work in A-grade movies. For those not in the know, he is holder in the Limca Book of Records for 19 movie releases as lead actor in the year 1989, and the record is still not broken by any other actor in the industry.

The actor is best remembered for his portrayal of Jimmy in the movie Disco Dancer, which was a super hit movie not only in India but also in many other countries in the world, especially Russia. After Raj Kapoor, Mithunda is one of the most popular actors in Russia. Kudos to cultural icon Mithun Chakravarty for being admired across generations for his versatile performances and excellence in acting. Wishing him the best in the future.

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee

(bkchatterjee9@gmail.com)