Pricey matters

Pricey matters
You have rightly emphasised the ways that can help check the impact of the petrol price hike on common man (‘Petrol price hike hits the common man’, DNA, January 19). Linking petrol price with the crude barrel price may be the easy thing but one has to bear in mind that the price hike has a spiralling effect on other essential items. In absence of good roads and energy-efficient transportation, crores of litres of petrol is wasted every day. The government has also willingly subsidised diesel to encourage the manufacturers of diesel cars, which are used by a privileged few. The government must find alternative ways to bridge the revenue gap by reducing taxes, improving public transportation system and charging differential pricing for trucks and cars.
—Ashok Goswami, Pune

No replacement
By not including a second wicket-keeper in the Indian World Cup squad, it seems the selectors have taken a risk. This can prove costly for India, in case, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is not able to play. The World Cup squad doesn’t have a single player, who can even be considered as a makeshift wicket-keeper. It is surprising to see that the selectors have turned a blind eye towards such a scenario.
—Ketan R Meher,  via email 

Alternative solution
The order of the ministry of environment and forests to demolish the 31-storey Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society building in Mumbai on the ground that it has no clearance and authorisation will surely give the much needed shock treatment to those who doled out the flats meant for providing housing to the families of the Kargil martyrs to politicians, top defence personnel and their kin (‘Demolition only option for Adarsh: Ramesh’, DNA, January 17). But then, is it necessary that the structure be demolished? Is it not possible to find an alternative solution to utilise the building?
—Valli S Rajan,  via email

The right attitude
Apropos ‘Pay up and build, MoEF tells Lavasa’, (DNA, January 19), Jairam Ramesh’s stand on the environment policy issues (Adarsh and  Lavasa are two examples) is in stark contrast to the ‘compromise and survive’ attitude of some other UPA’s minister. One only wishes we had more such frank and forthright ministers, with a no-nonsense attitude like the minister of environment and forests at the Centre who would give their job the priority.
—Arun Mehta, Mumbai