A time to re-think on Ganeshotsav

A time to re-think on Ganeshotsav
This refers to the letter ‘Should we do a re-think on public Ganeshotsav’ in this column (Sep 24). The writer Praveen Shetty has raised very valid issue which possibly haunts the minds of several right-thinking Hindus, who may be reluctant to express publicly these (religiously) unacceptable views! Sure, when Lokmanya Tilak introduced the Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav, it had a different purpose relevant to those times, which may not be proper now. In a city like Mumbai, public processions of any form take their toll on an already harried and exhausted commuter struggling with the every-day issue of getting home in the evening in time for dinner with the family. The high decibel musical instruments are also a relentless onslaught on the ear drums. In Hindu religion worship is a very private affair and religious sentiments will be equally well served by worshipping Ganesh idols, or any other deity of choice, behind closed doors without disturbing neighbours or the common man on the street. At least this year the environmental issues were addressed by more and more ‘green’ idols. A good beginning in the right direction, perhaps.
—Praveen Chaturvedi, Mumbai

Dubious roles played
Kudos to DNA for its investigative report ‘Nabard wastes Rs22 cr, govt ignorant’ (Sep 24). The revelations made in the report should be an ‘eye opener’ for the government. The situation seems to be very very fishy and ignorance of the government in the scam appears to be intentional. Obviously, the integrity of the global management consultancy group can also be classified as ‘doubtful’. The possibility of deployment of this agency for similar purposes by other public sector units (PSUs) can’t be ruled out. God only knows how many skeletons are there in the government/PSUs’ cupboards? If it is so, the situation is alarming, and it requires a thorough investigation of the Nabard as well other such PSUs, if any. It is desirable that the government should take note of such lapses seriously and try to punish the culprits. Needless to add that Boston Consulting Group (BCG) should be black listed for any assignments in the future. In fact, this is the best opportunity for the government to slightly improve its shady image by acting swiftly.
—Kishorkumar J Ved, Mumbai

II
The Nabard coming under the purview of RBI is wasting public money for personal benefit. In exchange of Rs22 crore, Nabard failed to get the best of Boston Consulting Group to guide the bank in its restructuring process. So, the money invested is going down the drains and the farmers suffer because of lack of help of the government. RBI as a watchdog should oversee all the operations of Nabard. It is time for the finance ministry to interfere and penalise the person responsible for getting the Boston Consulting Group and not utilising the services in the best way possible. It is time for the government to make use of the Rs22 crore invested on a consulting agency or just avoid investing from ensuing years and pass on the amount to poor farmers. Pumping cash on such a dead proposal is not favoured in any organisation and Nabard is not an exception to this.
—CK Ramani, Mumbai 

Unduly critical
In his article, ‘In FDI, farmers and a handful of salt’ (Sep 24), Sreenivasan Jain is unduly critical. Just because the states have adopted the model APMC Act and because Orissa has engaged a consulting firm to help its onion growers, it does not deprive them  of the right to oppose FDI in multi-brand retail. On the contrary, a sympathetic inference could be that they are open to change that appeals to them. There are valid reasons for tolerating Indian corporate retailers and opposing entry of MNC retailers.
—Mahesh D Bakhai, via e-mail

II
Sreenivasan Jain’s article made an interesting reading. However, being close to farmers few issue have cropped up in my mind and wish if same could be answered. Two basic issues when the Walmart and others come in. 1) They will probably buy stuff in greater lots and surely at a premium than the market rates. No doubt farmers stand to benefit. However,  can a state create a platform for farmers where they can bring in their produce and sell it in the open in a transparent manner without the aid of middlemen and at a place that is convenient and equipped to handle the market (perishable) produce? Will the state chip in to create this basic infrastructure? Because this should benefit marginal farmers tremendously and would also help marginal traders (baniyas) and not just the biyanis. 2) at a time when the government is ready to bend in for the biggies like Walmart, what are they doing for the farmers? Why are they not getting rid of the old archaic laws to free the agricultural market and bring in transparency? Can we bring this to the notice of the parliamentarians and do something quickly along with the FDI approval? And lastly, a level-playing field where small farmers and traders are able to use their skills and pass on the same to the aam admi without going to Walmart? Sounds interesting?
—Sunil Vaidya, via e-mail

Mulayam and UPA
Apropos of ‘Why join UPA govt? Ready for mid-term polls, says Akhilesh’ (Sep 24), the Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav supporting the government at the Centre was neither unexpected nor surprising, as he is known for such antics. For two reasons SP is giving outside support to the distraught UPA — first, afraid that the CBI could be used against Mulayam on the disproportionate assets case in the event of not supporting the government, and second, to squeeze the Centre to get more funds for UP. The funny terminologies ‘communal’, ‘secular’, ‘pseudo-secular’ were unheard of in the politics of yesteryears but in the contemporary politics these are used liberally to score brownie points.
—HP Murali, Mumbai