Not corporators, 'nagar sewaks'

Not corporators, nagar sewaks
This has a reference to ‘Wary of aggrieved voters, 8 of 10 corporators bunk forum’ (January 9). ‘My Locality, My Voice’ is surely a huge step taken by DNA in strengthening our democracy.  I wish other like-minded organisations join you for this cause of nation-building. While congratulating you, I would like to mention here that ‘corporators’ are only paid sewaks, and hence, they should be called just ‘nagar sewaks’. This is of utmost importance to change the mindset of the public.
—Suresh Ranka

II
I am very impressed by DNA’s ‘My Locality, My Voice’ campaign. Please organise such a meeting for the C ward residents as well. Traffic, noise pollution and filth are our biggest issues, especially for residents of the Bhuleshwar area. We desperately want to get rid of these menace.
—Devyani Javeri

BMC poll tamasha
The forthcoming municipal election appears to be a great tamasha. The aspirants will try their best to show concern over various civic problems faced by Mumbaikars. But by now, we are well acquainted with such eye-wash. As soon as they grab their seats of power, it would be almost impossible to reach them. The concerns they show will vanish in thin air. The problems of filthy drains, illegal vendors/hawkers, potholes, unauthorised constructions, grabbing of open spaces by builders, destruction of mangroves, frequent water cuts due to perennial ‘repair’ of pipes, flooding during the rains will continue. Corruption needs no other example than what prevails in the BMC. The ruling Shiv Sena reappointed the very same contractors for road development/maintenance against whom serious charges of shoddy work were levelled. Can we expect anything better from the new regime?
—Harischandra Parshuram

Giving in to NCP
Apropos of  ‘NCP serves 24-hr ultimatum on Congress to make alliance air clear’ (January 9), the Congress will do well to give in to NCP’s demand of 65 seats in the civic body for two reasons. It is possible that the alliance comes to power and this will go well with the coalition government in the state. In a broader context, the Congress needs to keep the NCP in good humour at a time when the TMC has been openly revolting against it at the Centre and the DMK is still smarting under the annoyance of having to see Kanimozhi at Tihar for several months. After all, the NCP is only an offshoot of the Congress and Sharad Pawar is still fancying his chances to become the PM one day. With Pranabda unlikely to contest the next Lok Sabha polls, there will not be anything wrong if the Congress too thinks of making his dream come true.
—V Subramayan

Ban pre-KG classes
This has a reference to ‘Baby steps to school cost a bomb’ (January 9). Apart from three preschool classes like Nursery, Jr. KG and Sr. KG, there is another recent entrant in the preschool segment — Playgroup. In this, children as young as 1&frac12 years is admitted for a two-hour group play daily. Despite the exorbitant fee, it has become a fad for parents to admit their tiny tots, who are not even properly toilet-trained, in such ‘classes’. I think there should be only two preschool classes, Jr. KG and Sr. KG. As for admission forms, parents should not be forced to pay through their nose.
—Kannur Rajan

Banking frauds
Apropos of ‘Pvt. banks see more fraud cases than public ones’ (January 9), the information obtained from RBI under RTI Act on banking frauds is astonishing. It is unbelievable that private banks, known for their perfection and prompt services, are more prone to such frauds. Thus, it will be convenient to conclude that security level at public sector banks is better. But is it really so? It is well known that with internet and mobile banking services, cases of cyber crimes are on rise. The customer’s ignorance about functioning of e-banking facilities lands him in the clutches of frauds, resulting in financial losses. Less number of frauds in public sector banks does not necessarily mean that customers of public sector banks are more careful/computer literate. A careful study of banks’ records and scrutiny of fraud cases will throw light on this matter.
—Kishorkumar J Ved

Foolish exercise
Apropos of ‘EC’s ‘cover up’ order: A jumbo task ahead’ (January 9), it is amusing that the Election Commission has ordered to veil all the statues of elephants Mayawati has erected all over Uttar Pradesh on the ground that they will remind the voters of BSP and influence them in the ensuing assembly elections. This reminds me of the joke in which a doctor tells the patient that while taking the medicines he had prescribed, the patient should not have any thoughts of ‘a black monkey’ if he wanted the medicines to have any effect and cure him. Every voter going to the polling booth will, without fail, be reminded of Mayawati and her party when he sees the veiled BSP symbol, defeating the very purpose of this foolish exercise. Enforcement of the election code of conduct should not be taken to such ludicrous heights.
—VS Kaushik Bengaluru

II
The EC’s order for covering all statues of UP chief minister Mayawati and her party symbol till the completion of the assembly poll is superfluous. Voters look at the election symbols only at the time of pressing the electronic voting machine button. Otherwise, nobody votes for any party simply on getting a glimpse of their election symbols. To say that statues can influence the voter’s decision is to undermine the intelligence and sense of judgement of the voters.
—MC Joshi