Firstpost Editor's Picks: Assam before Bogibeel Bridge, KCR's third front dreams, Delhi pollution levels; today's must-read stories

A trip down memory lane to Assam's Sonari ghat before the Bogibeel Bridge No doubt, the Bogibeel Bridge comes as a boon for those who have been languishing in a remote corner of the country for long. But a bridge will always remain a bridge and can’t assume the charm of a boat! I can’t recollect which year it was exactly, but I have a hazy memory of my first ride across the river over three decades ago when my father got transferred from Tinsukia to North Lakhimpur in his capacity as a government doctor. KCR's third front dreams remain a far-fetched proposition; here's why A friction-less alliance between various regional satraps is a far-fetched dream. In event of a hung House,  even if the combined third front manages 100 to 125 seats, it will be a tough job to get them to pick the same national party that they should support. The interplay of each of these regional parties with the Congress and the BJP is vastly different. While many parties have accused KCR of working in tacit understanding with the BJP to defeat Congress, it will be impossible for MK Stalin or Mamata Banerjee to be associated with a grouping that has BJP in it. As Delhi pollution levels hit 'severe', green activists make case for decentralised governance These days, governance failures in the national capital are reduced to the tussle between the BJP-led Centre and the AAP-led Delhi government, which claims that its hands are tied by the lieutenant general. While the Centre and Delhi government continue to fail to come together and resolve the air pollution problem, they slay Delhi’s spirits one festival at a time. Women-centric reforms needed for financial inclusion; gender-neutral schemes don't work The lack of adequate gender-specific data, in terms of usage of bank accounts by women, duplication of bank accounts and dormancy, has also been an impediment to crafting more efficient financial inclusion schemes for women. The evidence on wider inclusion — beyond opening bank accounts — or the lack of it, has been disappointing.