A rhino takes a mudbath at Kaziranga. Picture by Eastern Projections

Fresh tag for the pride of Assam

The greater one-horned rhinoceros still faces extinction given rampant poaching. So the decision of the International Union for Conservation of Nature recently to push it to “vulnerable” status from the “endangered” rung has come as a shock.

Is the slight rise in the rhino population enough justification to upgrade its status?

Wildlife lovers feel the decision has been taken in a hurry. Certainly, everybody agrees that a lot of effort has been made to increase the population of the rhino in the wild and credit goes to the people working day and night in the field. But poaching is still on in Kaziranga and last year, more than 20 rhinos were killed by poachers.

The future of the rhino, the pride of Assam, merits serious discussion. I believe that a decision should have been taken considering the ground realities rather than just going by a single indicator — an increase in its population. One thing is certain: the decision will have no impact on the field staff who will keep on working steadfastly irrespective of the change in the status of the rhino.

Ramen Saikia
Golaghat

File picture of army personnel during an anti-insurgency operation

Army does its duty

This is with reference to the news item Killing Spoke in Peace Wheel, published in The Telegraph on October 29.

The army, along with other security forces, is working hard to create a conducive environment for peace to prevail in the region, contrary to what has been published. There are no “go slow” orders or safe passage orders for or by the army.

The army is not carrying out operations only against those cadres of A and C companies of Ulfa’s 28 battalion who have joined the mainstream. However, any elements or groups operating against the state will be dealt with appropriately, in accordance with the law of the land. The army would in no way create conditions that are detrimental to peace.

The armed forces are focussed and committed to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country from both internal and external threats and can never be a “spoke in the peace wheel”.

Lt Col Rajesh Kalia
PRO (Defence)

Unanswered questions

October 30 will always be a black day in the history of Assam. The pictures of blasts and the smoke coming out from the vehicles will unnerve anybody who looks at them time and again.

But whom do we blame and how do we catch the perpetrators? Undoubtedly, it is the security forces who will have to give the answers, as it has come to light that information about the blasts was provided to them quite a long time back.

Why they did not act and what stopped them from doing it? These are answers which people living here would want to know. The police should now arrest those who have committed the dastardly act. As days pass on, the blame-game will intensify. There have been rallies throughout the state against the blasts, showing a strong sense of unity among the people against all forms of terrorism. People have to be united against terrorism to defeat these ugly forces, which time and again use violence to show their superiority. I pray that these incidents do not recur.

Rajiv Barua
Khanapara,Guwahati