Letters to The EDITOR: Where is Bumrah?

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Where is Bumrah?

Jasprit Bumrah, once the most feared opening pace bowler in both ODIs and test cricket, has been found to be missing from the national team for some time, causing concern to the selectors as well as to the cricket lovers of the nation. According to cricket pundits, his absence is mainly due to fitness problems. Many opine that his fitness problem might be due to faulty bowling action or due to his overexposure to the recently concluded IPL, the money-making tournament. Other players, including Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Hardik Pandya, and a few others, have also joined Bumrah. The star pacer was absent from the T20 tour of Ireland, the subsequent three-match ODIs against England in England, and India's ongoing tour of Sri Lanka for the two-match test series.

Through this esteemed letter, may I request that the BCCI address Bumrah’s issues as soon as possible? Bumrah should also learn to take care of himself. Otherwise, he will become a footnote in the nation's cricket history, which we want to avoid at all costs, especially with the important Test tours to New Zealand, followed by Australia's tour of India, and the ODI World Cup scheduled for next year in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

Dr. Ashim Chowdhury,

Guwahati

Stray animals on roads

Through your esteemed newspaper, I wish to highlight the growing menace of stray animals on our busy city roads.

The unchecked presence of free-roaming cattle and dogs has become a severe public safety hazard. These animals frequently wander into moving traffic, causing sudden swerves and fatal accidents, especially during the night. Additionally, they scatter waste around garbage dumps, creating highly unhygienic conditions.

I urge municipal authorities to take immediate action by relocating cattle to proper shelters and implementing systematic sterilisation drives to clear the streets.

Riki Raj Bharali Kalita

(rikiraj881@gmail.com)

Eating right

Our health is a product of what we eat. Our long-term fitness is determined by our food choices and eating habits. In fact, staying healthy and eating right are two inextricable concepts from each other. No matter how much a person lifts weights in the gym or runs on the treadmills, if his foods are not natural and appropriate, he is unlikely to get good results.  Eating organic, homemade and healthy food is as important as exercising to keep the body active. One cannot remain immune to diseases by eating packaged paneer, canned fruits and vegetables. Since each vital organ of our body needs a definite amount of vitamins and minerals, consuming too many processed and pre-cooked items can be detrimental, as they lack or contain inadequate nutrients. If a food can be kept consumable inside a packet for months, then it is the added chemical, labelled as a preservative, that is working its miracle. If such items go inside the body for long, they can have adverse health effects.

For optimal health, equally important is the category of foods we prefer. Too many fried recipes and sugary and fatty items can make us sick even if we eat them homemade.  There is evidence galore, where we have seen how drinking too much cola and consuming too much oil and fast food have brought suffering and dire consequences for many. Today, right from an early age, kids become addicted to chips, chocolates and beverages. These preservatives containing food items not only affect their liver and guts but also expose them to serious diseases when consumed regularly. Today, children, like adults, also suffer from diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. And much of the credit for making their body insulin resistant at such a low age goes to processed butter, milk, jam and sauces, which are loaded with nothing but sugar. These items are consumed every day and are considered a part of a regular meal. But rather than providing any benefits to the body, they help in accumulating fats and cause sugar spikes.

The availability and affordability of certain food items also contribute to the deterioration of our eating habits. Until the early 90s, when the technology of nitrogen flush packing was not fully commercialised, there was only small-scale production of potato chips and other snacks. Today we observe bundles of chips and snack packets hanging in front of every shop and stall. Even if one goes to buy something else, he will pick up two packs of them for their affordability at just Rs 5. After consuming these fat-rich items for years, we now find ourselves running in parks to lose weight.

Accessibility is another factor that has influenced our eating preferences. Ordering fast food through the apps has become a way of escaping from the usual time-consuming cooking. City dwellers and bachelors find it tiresome to spend time in the kitchen and regularly avail their meals from Swiggy and Zomato, without bothering about how much these hotel-made oil-rich foods can damage their health.

Now is the time to consider whether we will allow our food habits to be dictated by market forces or view healthy eating as a necessary commitment to our well-being. 

Kabir Ahmed Saikia

Rajabari ,Jorhat