Letters to the editor

Sea bridge 8226; WITH the inauguration of Sethu Samudram Ship Channel Project by the prime minister, a dream is going to be realised. But ...

Sea bridge

8226; WITH the inauguration of Sethu Samudram Ship Channel Project by the prime minister, a dream is going to be realised. But like other mega projects such as the river linking project and the Sardar Sarovar project, this one too is not without its share of controversy. Interestingly, as the Express has reported, the space scientist who for two years helped the RSS formulate its opposition to the Sethusamudram project, has turned out to be a fraud. But there are lots of reasons to go ahead with the project. Currently ships coming from the west coast of India and other western countries and headed to the east coast of India as well as Bangladesh, China and Southeast Asia, have to navigate around the Sri Lankan coast. The existing waterway is shallow and not sufficient for the movement of ships. This is due to the presence of a shallow region known as the Adam8217;s Bridge, located south-east of Rameswaram near Pamban, which connects the Talimannar coast of Sri Lanka. This project has been initiated in order to reduce the steaming distances between the east and west coasts of India and to improve the navigation within the territorial waters of India. The channel will cut sailing by a distance of 254 to 424 nautical miles and 21-36 hours of sailing time. The project will lead to considerable savings of foreign exchange.

8212; Md Ziyaullah Khan, Pune

Pakistan model

8226; IT is worth noting that Pakistan, an Islamic state, is fighting terrorists in the Lal Masjid mosque 8216;Lal Masjid militants say no surrender8217;, IE, July 6. Even Saudi Arabia has shot down terrorists in the holy city of Mecca. The Pakistani government also destroyed a mosque that had come up without authorisation. In contrast to this correct approach of separating religion from the state, our government gets cold feet if any action is to be taken against mosques, gurudwaras or temples. Nor can we demolish temples that have come up overnight in all sorts of places. Why can8217;t we learn from Pakistan how best to resist religion?

8212; R.P. Desai, Mumbai

Schooling YSR

8226; THIS is about the editorial, 8216;YRS, No Sir8217; IE, July 6. Apart from the politics of the vote bank and even the much-debated Sachar Committee Report, it is time to ask ourselves whether the policy of reservation itself has been effective or not. Instead of playing with the reservation toy, steps should be taken to provide 8216;functioning primary schools8217;. Had we been more result-oriented, we would have focused on getting all our children into school.

8212; Naval Langa, Ahmedabad