The government should learn a lesson from brave Rukhsana

Rukhsana Kausar’s courageous act of killing a Lashkar terrorist in Kashmir is praiseworthy (J&K girl guns down terrorist, September 29).

The government should learn a lesson from brave Rukhsana
Rukhsana Kausar’s courageous act of killing a Lashkar terrorist in Kashmir is praiseworthy (J&K girl guns down terrorist, September 29). The incident should be an eye-opener for the state and the central governments, which have failed to restore peace in the Valley. Their insistence on dialogues with extremists has yielded no positive result and the number of terrorist attacks is increasing in Kashmir. We need a zero-tolerance approach to resolve the problem.
Hansraj Bhat, Mumbai

HT Image

No airy matter, this
The report Chandni Chowk, Janakpuri air most polluted (September 28) is a wake-up call for Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal who has been representing the Chandni Chowk constituency for the past five years. While Sibal is busy reforming school education, he seems to have forgotten his constituency and the various problems that the residents face. The reasons for high levels of air pollution in Chandni Chowk are increased traffic, mushrooming of small-scale industries and illegal construction in the area.
Naved Yar Khan, Delhi

II
The report is a big blow to the Delhi government’s tall claims of keeping the city clean and green. The chief minister should apologise for misleading the people. With the Commonwealth Games due next year, it’s important to maintain cleanliness in the city. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi should ensure that pollution levels come down at the earliest.
Mahendra Pandey, via email

Poori-sabzi politics lacks flavour
The editorial Eating Real India (The Pundit, September 29) highlights the hypocrisy of our politicians who can stoop to any level to woo voters. Be it poori-subzi politics or the austerity drive, it seems other politicians are being forced to follow Rahul Gandhi’s modus operandi. But the fact is that such drives are not helping the common man. These are publicity stunts which are aimed at amassing votes in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Sandy Dheer, Delhi

Much ado about nothing
Pradeep Magazine’s article It’s a bit of a stretch (September 28) shows how people are making a mountain out of a molehill out of the four-page dossier meant to improve the Indian cricket team’s performance. Do we have no real cricketing issues left to debate? The biggest culprit is the media that have irresponsibly handled the issue. It is true that the role of the press as a critic is crucial for national progress. But it shouldn’t overreact to every issue or stir up frivolous controversies.
Anuradha Rai, via email

Many battles yet to be fought
The editorial Bonfire of our frailties (Our Take, September 28) rightly states that the government should learn a lesson from the festival of Dusshera and wage a war against all the evils that hamper national growth. Naxalism, price rise, corruption and many similar evils have already caused enough damage. We need to kill the various Ravanas that exist in our society before they start threatening our existence.
R.K. Malhotra, Delhi

A drive to bring down food prices
The report Food prices go through roof (September 29) rightly states that the present trend reveals that food items will get costlier in the coming days. This is because all politicians are busy with the austerity drive and have no time to take note of the common man’s problems. The need of the hour is to start a drive to catch those who hoard foodgrains.
Harish Bhatia, Faridabad