Coal syndicate – Geese laying golden eggs: Letter to Editor

Coal syndicate – Geese laying golden eggs

There have been unending tales of corruption during this regime of the ruling dispensation, despite the fact that the Chief Minister very often is heard of telling in public meeting of zero tolerance to corruption. Not a single day passed without any report of corruption through different syndicates. This irregularity of syndicate takes place under the noses of those responsible for ensuring law and order. We are surprised to note that almost every day we come across news of corruption and syndicate but no clarification from the government refuting the charge has been seen. This implies that the government has accepted the charge leveled against it. It is alleged in a section of the press that coal- yndicate with full blessings of Dispur has been transformed into geese laying golden eggs. The report in the print media suggests that one Jiban Saha of West-Bengal is the key person behind this huge coal syndicate of Jogighopa, It is further reported that the syndicate under Saha earns Rs 25 lakh by way of Goonda Tax per day parts of which go to the police officers and BJP's top leaders, including MLAs.

Duping the Assam government of crores of rupees as tax, this irregularity of syndicate, be it oil or coal, has been going on with full knowledge of the BJP's ministers, under the nose of the administrative machinery.

Through your esteemed daily, we keep an appeal to our Chief Minister to give a clarification on the serious issue.

Ashok Bordoloi,

Dibrugarh.

Government must accept full responsibility for the hooch tragedy

By now a tendency has well set in our country that whenever any person succumbs to death for action or inaction of government, it announces a few lakhs of rupees as grant to the next of the relative of the victim and believes that it has fulfilled its responsibilities. Also, it is the easiest way to make people forget the intensity of the crime government has committed because of which large number of persons were killed. Whenever the family of the victim is poor enough a few lakhs of rupees received from the government, considerably help them to remove their economic hardship. The money received from the government also helps to subside their anger against the government. But many refuse to accept such money who feels that any amount of money is no substitute for lives of their near and dear ones.

Government has also no problem in giving money in such cases because it is the tax payer's money. It does not matter if government has to leave the construction of an important road or bridge incomplete for this purpose.

We have no objection in giving money to the members of the victim's family. But in addition to giving monetary help to the victim's family it must accept the overall responsibilities of a family whose only bread earner died of such negligence of the government. It must see whether the money it gives is properly utilized. In the recent hooch tragedy, in some cases both the parents died leaving their minor children or their old parents behind, who cannot utilize such money for their well being. In such cases, government must shoulder entire responsibilities relating to such families.

The greedy Excise Department officer whose greed has caused this tragedy must be given exemplary punishment; government should investigate into their movable and immovable and benami property. Now they are destroying thousand litres of poisoned wine; but they did not see even one litre of such wine before the tragedy.

The CM instead of boasting for his achievements during his three years of rule should also apologise to the people for failure of his government for the death of almost two hundred people and own responsibility for such tragedy.

Paramananda Bora,

Jyoti Path, Bhetapara, Beltola.