It was heartening to learn that the dashing cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar shall soon be padding up to play his innings as a Rajya Sabha member. The government nomination is a well-deserved honour for the champion batsman who has time and again proved his ability and managed to carve a niche for himself in the cricket world at the highest level. Besides ‘The Little Master’, has been a wonderful ambassador of the game for his country and a true gentleman. One hopes that his fierce commitment to excellence which has been his hallmark comes to the fore once again and his stint as a Rajya Sabha member proves to be as memorable and glorious as his career on the cricket field. —N J Ravi ChanderIIThat cricketing legend  Sachin Tendulkar, yesteryears heroine Rekha and industrialist Anu Aga have been nominated to the Rajya Sabha is a  welcome move. I hope that these citizens who have excelled in their respective fields, will work for the cause of their professions by raising relevant issues in the Rajya Sabha to bring about some changes for the better in their fields. —Ramesh G JethwaniBan tint filmApropos the Supreme Court verdict on tinted car-glass some tint in car-glass is considered necessary to protect from the sun’s rays, which is accepted both by Supreme Court and traffic police as seen in their permitting 30-percent tint in front and rear glass, and 50-percent tint in side-glass. Car-manufacturers should be asked to provide options to have either plain glass or tinted glass. Sale of tint-film, and sticking tint-film on car-glass should be strictly banned. Similar steps should be taken to check the menace of fancy number-plates. Dealers making and/or selling number-plates in designs not permissible should be arrested to eliminate the root-cause of the problem. —Subhash Chandra Agrawal  IIWhen tinted glass in vehicles has been a major source of concern for women’s security as well as preventing criminal activities, the judgment requires more teeth in order to prevent mishaps. 

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Cancellation of driving licence against the law breaker can be one such preventive step. The court order is clear on the percentage of allowed darkness that would be sufficient to protect motorists from the heat. But the big question is how is the layman to know the percentages prescribed? Or does our traffic department have the tint meters ready to measure the same on the spot? Or is this just another easy way of money making for our cops?!

Nonetheless we really appreciate this diligent and much needed judgment.—Bidyut Kumar ChatterjeeTit for tatThe Indian political arena is witnessing a peculiar battle between two camps. To start with, one side fired from an imported Howitzer field gun Bofors. Before the smoke from it could dissipate, by a strange and eerie coincidence, and virtually within 24 hours, the other side fired from the 11 years’ old ammunition called Bangaru Laxman.  Thus, both sides hope to blunt each-other’s edge in an uneasy truce at least for the time being.—Arun MalankarDrain strainMumbai witnessed unprecedented rains in 2005 and enormous chaos followed which paralysed the city and the suburbs completely. Like the Mithi river , several drains remained to be desilted and cleaned and as a result it has wreaked havoc of large proportions in the city. But neither the BMC nor the citizens learnt any lessons from the aftermath. One such nullah at Santacruz as reported by you was last cleaned only after the 2005 deluge! Several complaints later we see the BMC squabbling over a jurisdiction issue and are hence engaged in only passing the buck from one ward office to the other. The piled up muck raises several health issues and a breeding ground for mosquitoes and related illnesses. Likewise other storm water drains and nullahs need desperate cleaning before this monsoon or else we will witness flooding yet again. Hope the residents and the BMC help each other and restore some sanity soon.—Deepak AThank you RTIApropos of ‘Pratibha forgoes govt home in Pune’ (April 28), the controversy following the reply to application seeking information, under Right To Information (RTI) Act, on President’s plan to settle in Pune at government expense, has compelled her to forgo the plan. The matter which would have gone unnoticed otherwise, has come to see the light of the day, only due to the RTI Act. Thus, time and again, the people have realised the real power of the Act. We should be thankful for such effective legislation. Moreover, our President too deserves appreciation for not forcing implementation of her plan by forgoing the government home. By doing so, Her Excellency has shown deep feelings for our brave jawans and war widows. All’s well that ends well.—Kishorkumar J VedIIIt is heartening to see that President Pratibha Patil had at last decided to respect the sentiments of the people by withdrawing her request to the Defence ministry to allot her a vast piece of military land near Pune to settle after her retirement. (‘Pratibha forgoes govt. home in Pune’, April 28). In previous times Mrs Patil’s ostentatious foreign tours at a great cost to the exchequer had earned her notoriety. With this decision by her to change her home plans it is time to put an end to the controversy.—VM Swaraj