Numbed, horrified

8226; It is shocking to learn that more than 80 schoolchildren and their teachers were burnt alive and over a h...

8226; It is shocking to learn that more than 80 schoolchildren and their teachers were burnt alive and over a hundred seriously injured in the fire accident at Kumbakonam. A few months ago we witnessed a major fire accident at Trichy in a marriage hall.

That the accident has taken place in a school, which should be the place to teach people about safety in all walks of life, is all the more saddening. Even as one talks about including environmental education in school and college syllabi, one should also make students conscious of safety in every walk of life. A little common sense and a few precautions against possible accidents could have saved a lot of lives.

8212;V.S. Venkatavaradan, Salem

8226; The tragic loss of so many lives in the Kumbakonam nursery school fire is heart rending. No amount of consolation can be much of any solace to the grieving parents and guardians of the children.

The lesson one has to learn from this event 8212; the hard way, of course 8212; is to bring about legislation for doing away with such roofing inflammable material for schools, hotels, marriage halls, etc. Nothing else can prevent recurrence of such tragedies in the future.

8212;S. Jayaraman Chennai

8226; The cause of the fire is one thing 8212; but was it on account of inadequate fire safety measures that it was not extinguished immediately? Were there no fire extinguishers, sand buckets or water hydrant systems or any other fire fighting gadgets in the vicinity?

It may be recalled that a devastating fire broke out in a kalyana mandapam last year killing a large number of people. This incident will remain a grim reminder of what great destruction a little carelessness can cause. But the authorities seem to have failed to learn a lesson and no step seems to have been taken to ensure safety in public premises and schools.

8212;Srimathi Venkatachari, Chennai

Waiting for rain

8226; Another year of bad monsoon rains for most of India! States like Bihar are facing floods 8212; on the other hand 23 districts in Rajasthan have hardly had any rains so far for many, the seventh year in a row.

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Doesn8217;t this ring warning bells for the government to take seriously the river-linking project? Hopefully the excess water in Assam and Bihar will reach
states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

8212;Mahesh Kumar Pali

Piped solutions

8226; The concept of the SYL canal is now dated. So also is the concept of linking all the major rivers. A futuristic solution to the problem lies in building pipelines from flood prone rivers to suitably located reservoirs in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Haryana and Punjab.

8212;H. Agnihotri On e-mail

Hidden questions

8226; The ruckus being created in Parliament over the inquiry ordered by Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav into the Godhra incident betrays a guilty conscience. Why should the BJP or Samata Party object if they believe their own version of events to be the truth?

The common man has learnt to see through the actions of politicians, and in the last elections has expressed his feelings. Neither the BJP nor the Samata Party has reconciled to being out of power. It is time they introspect rather than just disrupt parliamentary proceedings.

8212;Y. Yunus Mumbai