Dear Editor,
I am deeply worried and concerned about the life and safety of our people and APPSC aspirants in particular as the date (29th July) is in such a month when monsoon is at its peak and is wreaking its havoc in the form of heavy landslides, flash floods and mudslides.
Heavy monsoon rain has affected human lives and road and communications all over India and is taking a toll on human lives. Northeast like every year has also been affected by torrential rainfall. Assam is already submerged under floods. And the Arunachal government cannot ignore tragic and horrible incidents that took place at Likabali Trans Arunachal highway claiming the lives of ITBP jawans and innocent people when heavy boulders came crashing on their vehicles.
What a horrible and terrifying incident and what could be more terrible than that?
But i have to say it could have been averted had necessary precautionary measures been taken and proper monitoring was done and accordingly early warnings were issued to the people.At Itanagar also recently labourers lost their lives when retaining wall collapsed and heavy chunk of earth fell on them and buried them alive.
Trans Arunachal Highway road construction work throughout Arunachal Pradesh has left many places and locations prone to man-made disasters.At many places massive earth cutting has been carried out in recent times which poses a great danger to human lives.
Along the stretch where road construction has been completed many places are prone to landslides as the soil on the slope due to long exposure to sun and rain may get washed away by the water any moment in this rainy season.
I am afraid how many more boulders might be waiting for its turn to roll down and hit innocent people and take away their lives. Arunachal Pradesh has seen the tragic death of some of our former leaders in chopper crash during this time only due to inclement weather. A young IAS officer of Tirap district lost his life in the chopper crash due to bad weather.
Likewise there are so many examples of such tragic incidents Arunachal has witnessed. Loss of one life that too of a youth is a great loss for our state if we look at the population of our state which is around 14 lakhs as per the latest census.
Some of the young aspirants may make their contributions to the state and society in a great way in future and transform and lead the society to greater heights.
Loss of their lives will be a great loss to our state. But such human tragedy can be prevented. When the Arunachal Pradesh government can defer the municipal elections citing monsoon rains as the reason which will create hurdles for the movement of resources and logistics why can’t they postpone the exam date of Prelims. Is elections more important than the lives of young Arunachalees? Municipal elections are held only at two places of Arunachal Pradesh whereas APPSC Prelims will be held at all the district headquarters.
This will be the time when the candidates will rush towards their home districts from state capital and other parts of Arunachal and from outside Arunachal. Month of July with monsoon at its peak with certainty of landslides, floods, road blocks, it a favourable time to conduct Prelims exams?
Our state govt cannot be so insensitive and ignore all the factors mentioned before.
If any untoward incident and human tragedy take place with any of the candidates especially who will be responsible for it? Therefore I appeal to the APPSC and the Arunachal Pradesh government to look into the aforementioned factors and be genuinely concerned about the lives of the young aspirants and postpone the prelims date and conduct them in the month of September or October whenever it is appropriate when there will be no heavy rainfall and the candidates can travel to any part of Arunachal Pradesh hassles free.
Nothing is more precious than life. Exams can wait, Death cannot.
Yours,
A worried Arunachalee