Rogue Jal Board Jal Board is perhaps the most abomible public service department under the present State government. So atrocious is its conduct that even if there is no supply for days together, it is not answerble or accountable. Howsoever our request to the Chief Minister for our efforts to tame the Jal Board to behave, is only a cry in the wilderness. Some are seen to lay emphasis on the culture of Asomiyatva (Assameseness) to ensure satisfactory service, which, I am afraid, is ill-founded. All the Jal Board employees from the lowest worker to the high-profile engineers, barring a couple or so of bow-tied bureaucrats at the top, are from the State. Sukriti Chowdhury, Anda Path, Dispur, Guwahati-6. APDCL’s ‘heart’ block While most of the APDCL field offices are clean and disciplined, the heart of the organization i.e. Bijulee Bhawan is not like that. Actually head office i.e. the heart should be an example that others can follow. But, it is seen that the heart of APDCL is not healthy, it might be blocked. Though, whitewashing and painting was done recently, but cleaning of floor stains and removal of dust-laden unused files are yet to be taken up. Most of the office chambers (cells) of the building are littered with tea cups, tobacco, betel nut spit, unused files and dust everywhere. Floors are never mopped, leaving black stains; nooks and corners of the cells are so dirty that a newcomer will hesitate even to take a cup of tea. Wastepaper baskets are blackened by waste tea, spit etc. Toilets are not maintained properly. Bijulee Bhawan building, which was constructed by the then AGCC, is far removed from its handsome days. I want to remind the Chairman, APDCL, to look into the matter regarding ‘Swachhata’ concept. He should pay sudden visits to each section and take stock why the cleaners or the in-charges of particular sections are not doing their job. While an administrator puts responsibility upon his subordites for not doing his job properly, the Chairman is also responsible for not giving attention to the cleanliness aspect. Pradipta Ranjan Bharali, Sukreswar, Panbazar, Guwahati-1. Shun hollow promises At a time when Assam’s pride the one-horned rhino is killed in quick succession by poachers, when  successive State governments keep blowing their trumpet about many solid measures including equipping forest guards with sophisticated weapons, the reality speaks otherwise as suggested by reports published in a section of the press. We understand that the Congress befooled the people for a pretty long time since Independence. But what surprises us is that the present BJP-led government too has started following in the footsteps of the Congress. A span of more than seven months has elapsed since BJP-led coalition assumed power and it is crystal clear that its government lacks sincerity as far as protecting the one-horned rhino is concerned, manifested from the report that the guards have been deprived of ration for last 21 years and no uniform for four years. That apart, the guards are no match with the poachers as far as sophisticated weapons are concerned. At the same time, it is shocking to note the silence of the Forest Minister. She could have divulged about the hollowness of the system. We appeal to the government of Assam to equip forest guards suitably, if not, it is at least better to refrain from making hollow promises to befool the people. Ashok Bordoloi,         Dibrugarh.