Letters to The EDITOR: Providing proper grooming to children

Providing proper grooming to children

Our children today are burdened with heavy study material, and at the same time we thrust negative things on them, about their future, career, etc. The media, especially social media, augments such not so positive thoughts and emotions. Our children also have become physically weak. The situation is quite alarming. Unless the society and parents take notice, and act proactively, our children may have bleak future as far as their lifestyles are concerned. True, there would be a few brilliant ones who would make their impressions, but others would fall apart.

Parents and guardians must take special care about their wards so that right upbringing is taught and children are encouraged to think positively and be active physically. The main focus of education has to be about inculcating habits of good human beings and good citizens. We must teach our children about values of life, our environment, respect for other human lives and the poor, etc. Our country has to bring the best practices of education in Finland, Norway, Singapore, and Japan among others. For school-going children, parents are immensely dependent on the schools and teachers about their education and thought processes. The reality is that the primary training for being good humans and citizens has to be complemented by schools and homes. If India is to become a great nation, it has to invest in its children to make them great.

A Bhuyan,

Nagaon.

World Cancer Day

As an annual ritual, 'World Cancer Day' is observed every year on February 4 in Assam also.The main focus, as usual, is to raise cancer consciousness among all sections of people. A report published in the print media suggests that in Assam 32,000 cancer cases are detected every year; and out of which 70% are found to be in advanced stage. Besides, 40-45% mortality reported of the total cancer cases, 50% are reported to be tobacco related.

While timely detection of cancer in other parts of the body cannot be guaranteed, oral cancer as a result of tobacco consumption is a common phenomenon. We believe oral cancer cases can be minimized only if our government machinery can rise to the occasion by taking stern action against those selling tobacco products openly. Under the nose of the government machinery, people flout rules violating the Anti-Tobacco Act and the officials maintain to look at the other side, pushing our youths to the brink of death. We have every reason to smell a rat in this exercise that some bureaucrats in the highest level are managed by these unscrupulous traders to make tobacco selling a flourishing one, costing lives of many. Merely observing the 'World Cancer Day' cannot serve any useful purpose, it is merely a waste of time and money.

Ashok Bordoloi,

Dibrugarh.