Save the Big Cat
With reference to the report Saving the stripes (October 4), there are very few tigers that remain in the wild today, a cause for concern for both environmentalists and the government. Post-Independence, the killing of some species, which are threatened with extinction, has been banned. But the trade in skin and body parts of tigers continues to be a lucrative business in India. Strict implementation of laws related to poaching is needed to help save the tiger from certain death.
Mahesh Kapasi, Delhi
Singur was bound to fail
Prem Shankar Jha in Whose brakes failed? (October 6) rightly condemns development at the expense of the land and livelihood of the rural poor. An edifice, however lofty, is bound to crumble if built on a fractured base. Singur failed not just because of Mamata Banerjee, but due to Newton’s third law of motion (every action has an equal and opposite reaction), which threw a spanner in the works, injuring both the commercial interests of Ratan Tata and the ego of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
Kajal Chatterjee, Kolkata
II
The events of Singur represent the ugliest facet of industrialisation. With Tata moving out, and if past industrial experience is anything to go by, the ruins of the Nano shed, with its concrete flooring intact, will probably continue to stand right there over the poor farmers’ land as a mute witness to the failure. Will the state provide quick respite or compensation to the farmers and the other residents who gave their land for jobs at the factory?
Amrita Goel, Indore
Funding a corrupt practice
with reference to the report MPs may get more funds for development (October 6), despite the findings of a parliamentary panel on a TV sting catching parliamentarians taking bribes for funding through their MPLAD Scheme funds, the government continues to fund this corruption. Even the Lok Sabha Speaker has advised the scrapping of this scheme. Many MPs are over-generous in funding projects from this endowment, which have nothing to do with public welfare. Our parliamentarians should take personal responsibility for the implementation of such schemes, rather than doling out money to the highest bidder.
Subhash Agrawal, Delhi
Funding a corrupt practice
with reference to the report MPs may get more funds for development (October 6), despite the findings of a parliamentary panel on a TV sting catching parliamentarians taking bribes for funding through their MPLAD Scheme funds, the government continues to fund this corruption. Even the Lok Sabha Speaker has advised the scrapping of this scheme. Many MPs are over-generous in funding projects from this endowment, which have nothing to do with public welfare. Our parliamentarians should take personal responsibility for the implementation of such schemes, rather than doling out money to the highest bidder.
Subhash Agrawal, Delhi
Police not doing enough
Jyotirmaya Sharma in Don’t let it be a closed and shut case (October 6) has raised a valid concern that the investigating agencies are not doing their assigned job well. The writer rightly mentioned the incident of a missing Japanese tourist, whose family is seeking an explanation for his disappearance. In being apathetic to his and his family’s plight, have we forgotten a key aspect of our culture: Atithi Devo bhavah?
Anurag Kanodia, via email
Inefficient administration
Sanjeev Ahuja’s series Gurgaon collapsing was topical and appreciable. But what was disappointing was the attitude of Haryana Chief Minister Bhoopinder Singh Hooda. If, after more than three years in power, he still wants to blame the previous governments for all ills, it might not be long before his own government joins that group.
Balakrishnan Unny, Gurgaon