Big road project is long overdue

Big road project is long overdue  
This has reference to Sudhir Suryavanshi’s ‘City of potholes and broken promises’ (Sep 13). Given the poor infrastructure, including the pathetic condition of the roads in most villages, towns and cities, a big-ticket project on road construction is long overdue. In fact, first-class roads are the backbone of a country’s overall development. To be successful in any mega road projects, the government should look at various factors such as relaxation of bureaucratic rules, adherence to time frame and maintaining transparency and accountability in contracts. First, those firms which have the best quality and experience in the road sector should be encouraged to take up the project. Second, timely completion of the project should be rewarded with incentives. With better and improved infrastructure, cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bangalore have a greater chance to beat the global competition.
—PSS Durai, Mumbai

Follow what you preach
This has reference to ‘Litter is Mumbai’s most unwanted’ (Sep 13). The ‘campaign’ by the students looks like a fad. They are targeting malls and shopping centres that already have paid cleaning staff and modern equipment to keep the area spic and span. Who doesn’t want to be famous? People will throng the bins to get photographed and get their views recorded. But how many would actually toe the line and keep their surroundings clean and how many would think twice before dropping litter on the road? I am witness to college students littering the roads near the eateries in front of their colleges. An earlier article, ‘Cleanliness: Whose business is it, anyway? (Aug 23), attempted to highlight such campaigns/drives in hospitals. Unless people realise that it’s everybody’s business, such campaigns are always short-lived. In a most ‘unwanted campaign’ the students are installing ‘creative bins’ inside the malls. I was just wondering if they could stretch this exercise a bit further to shame the BMC by introducing such bins by the roadside as well.
—Ashok Kumar, via e-mail

Kudankulam protests
One wonders how innocent villagers and fishermen provoked by the self-appointed scientist Udayakumar and a few of his friends challenged both the Centre and Tamil Nadu government over the Kudankulam nuclear power plant. Without any doubt nuclear energy is clean but the disposal of nuclear waste and its safety are tricky issues. But even after former president Abdul Kalam and the committee of technical experts and eminent scientists have given a clean chit to the safety of the plant and the Madras high court gave its green signal, people like Arvind Kejriwal and others with vested interest are instilling fear in the mind of the people. The government has failed to pacify the agitators, but effective communication may help to end their grievances. And that can be built only by assuring the people around Kudankulam of their safety and providing them livelihood opportunities after the plant becomes operational. On the other hand, the government should take strict action against vested interests instilling fear in people. To crush the power crisis, why should the government not take strict action against them or why should the court not initiate contempt proceedings against those with vested interest? Actually, the leaders of the agitation want to deprive the villagers of a taste of development.
—Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad

Respect CAG
Apropos of ‘CAG wants political future in BJP: Digvijay’ (Sep 13),  senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh is yet again in the news for all wrong reasons. It needs no emphasis that the constitutional body is doing its duty by coming out with startling revelations of large-scale irregularities that is leading to a huge loss to the national exchequer. This is obviously not taken kindly by the Congress. Spokespersons of the party need to learn to respect CAG by not firing loose cannons. This could only reflect and also expose its lack of will to commit to anything. Equating CAG and the BJP on the same wavelength is nothing short of short-sightedness.
—HP Murali, Bangalore

Court and the press
This has reference to  ‘Courts can restrain media coverage: SC’ (Sep 12). The apex court’s guidelines for the press are balanced, just and reasonable. That the court has taken a lenient view on reporting matters, which are under judicial consideration, is in itself a victory of sorts for the press. Though the principle of “docrine of postponement” formed by the Supreme Court puts the ball right into the court of the press, by doing so, the former has deftly reminded the press of its duties and responsibilities. The press has done credibly well in the recent times to highlight issues which, otherwise, would have faded into oblivion. Some tricky cases would not have seen the light of the day without the active intervention of our newspapers and the electronic media. That being said, it is very imperative to draw a line of control in all spheres of professions and the press cannot be the sole exception. The newspapers have to impose upon themselves a self-regulated and robust “laxman rekha”, very hard to breach for trivial reasons. Our courts are already overflowing with litigations and it must be the endeavour of our “fourth estate” to ensure that it does not become a cause of addition of frivolous cases. By saying it is only trying to usher in “preventive” changes, and not “punitive” ones, the highest court of the land has unveiled its deep respect for the press. It is indeed a herculean task for the press to live up to the court’s expectations, though not an impossible one.
—Ganapathi Bhat, Akola

Mulayam’s ways
This is in reference to Mulayam Singh Yadav’s desire to play a pivotal role in national politics and his ambition to lead a third front. With the scam-tainted Congress and the BJP, it may be the right time to form the third front. However, after his act of ditching TMC during the Presidential election, will any party trust him? Or, is it another ploy to divide the votes and ensure a thumping victory for the Congress?
—N Mahadevan, Mumbai