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| Vehicular emission survey by Pollution Control Board, Assam. Picture by S.H.Patgiri |
Call for pollution board revamp
lThrough your esteemed daily, I would like to point out the abysmal state of the Pollution Control Board of Assam.
In spite of the alarming warning signs of global warming and other environmental hazards, we are yet to wake up to the threats.
We continue to exploit our natural resources, are reckless about vehicular emissions, deforestation and earth-cutting.
Are we waiting for a major catastrophe to occur in order to jolt us out of our slumber?
It is high time the Pollution Control Board was revamped and reactivated in order to protect our children from the hazards of pollution.
Will the concerned citizens please speak up against such callousness?
Ram Goswami,
Guwahati
Apropos the news feature “Shelter from life’s tornado” (The Telegraph northeast, March 27), it was interesting to note that there is a short-stay home for women. It would definitely serve as a boon for women, especially those who are facing litigation on account of marital disputes.
Such homes have been established by voluntary organisations with the aim of rehabilitating women in distress by giving them proper counselling and guidance, medical and psychiatric check-up and treatment, facilities for development of skills and any other aids that they might require.
Such homes are meant primarily for those women and girls who are either exposed to moral danger or are victims of family discord and the resultant strain of mental or emotional disturbances. We need more such homes, especially in a growing city like Guwahati.
Kamini Barua and Arundhati Goswami,
Guwahati
Apropos the news item “Ex-BLT men to take up arms as cops” (The Telegraph northeast, March 25), it was interesting to note that 400 former members of the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) were appointed as special police officers, fulfilling a commitment made in the Memorandum of Understanding with the disbanded militant group.
Over 125 special police officers would be chosen from among the former BLT members based in Kokrajhar and Chirang and 75 each from Baska and Udalguri districts. Over 2,500 BLT members formally bade farewell to arms at a function in Kokrajhar on December 6, following which the interim BTC was created.
This is a good way of solving the militancy problem. But there should not be any kind of discrimination while choosing militant groups for such rehabilitation schemes. The government should also initiate dialogue with the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) and the Ulfa. All these militants who have taken up arms should be brought to the negotiation table.
Ragini Roy,
Shillong
I enjoyed reading about the evergreen hero Nipon Goswami (The Telegraph northeast, March 24). At the age of 60, he is not tired but confident of playing lead roles both in the realm of reel and the real life.
Making his debut in films at the age of seven in Piyali Phukan, Nipon has come a long way and witnessed the ups and downs of Assamese celluloid industry. Success came to Goswami smoothly after his film Sangram in 1967.
An alumni of Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, Nipon has a number of hits to his credit, like Dr Bezbaruah, Ajali Nabou and Jibon Surabhi. He has acted in more than 79 films, including television serials and telefilms.
He has been accorded with the honour of lifetime achievement award by Jyotirupa.
We wish him a successful and a eventful future in the Assamese cineworld. We hope he will usher in more glory for us.
Nazneen Hussain,
Hatigaon
Apropos the news item “Karbi group vows revenge in a week” (The Telegraph northeast, March 26), it is really scary when groups like the United People’s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) openly send out threats to “wipe out Kuki militants” from the district to avenge the massacre of 34 Karbi tribals by the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA).
The government should intervene to bring all the warring groups on to the negotiating table.
This would help rehabilitate the militants.
Gauri Shankar Ramchiary,
Diphu
March 24 of 2004 is an auspicious day for India as the Indian cricket team brought home the Samsung Cup. The 19-year-old Irfan Pathan, who made his debut in the third match of the one-day international (ODI) series, was brilliant as he took three crucial wickets in the final of the ODI series.
The Pakistanis had confidently said hundreds of Irfan Pathans were found playing on their streets. But the one and only Irfan Pathan of India blew off their misconception. A young member of the team, he played a crucial role in winning the cup. The Indian cricket team could not even imagine winning the Samsung Cup without the wickets taken by Irfan Pathan. He played extraordinarily well and thus won the hearts of thousands of cricket lovers of India.
Benazir Suraiya,
Guwahati
Thanks for the photograph depicting the foundation stone of a water supply scheme laid by Lok Sabha MP B.K. Handique at Ujani Ata Pam village, 16 km from Jorhat, way back in 2000 (The Telegraph northeast, March 25) in the column Beyond Headlines. The project is yet to take off.
It is an example of promises not kept by the politicians who throng these villages in search of votes. They simply forget these villagers after the elections are over.
In fact, with elections round the corner, it would be a great idea to have a series of photographs on similar promises, which reflect the hollow rhetoric of the politicians.
This would let the common people have a glimpse of the “shining” examples of the politicians.
Ajanta Neog,
Tinsukia