Say 'no' to dowry

This may just be the tip of the iceberg. The situation can't be allowed to be accentuated. To our mind, the first option is to make the rural people aware of the extreme negative impact of the dowry menace by a constant hammering on it. Just get it into their system to reject it. Projects similar to the one in Jamalpur can help the poor and vulnerable groups in attaining self-esteem. Making the country free of dowry should be the new mantra for all of us. Taking cue from the residents in Kendua, villagers in other parts of the country can also sit together and identify their problems and ways out of them. It's for their own good that they realise where their weaknesses and strengths lie.

Poverty can be attributed to two sets of causes. First, it's the infrastructural inadequacy. Until that's improved significantly, no lift-pump effect on poverty eradication can be expected. Secondly, it's the social factors. And dowry being dominant among them, specific steps need to be taken to tackle it. The positive outcome of the WB project will have to be replicated. Until there is homing in on the problems of poverty, no attempt to stem the scourge can be successful. Needless to say, where strict laws fail, a well-executed awareness programme succeeds.

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