Opinion Letters to the Editor
Mamata Banerjee has proved that she can fight all odds and be West Bengal’s undisputed leader.
Letter of the Week Award
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Letters to the Editor
Quake Proof
Apropos Sanjoy Hazarika’s ‘The Assam type house’ (IE, April 30), there has been a phenomenal growth of high-rise commercial and residential buildings. Many builders flout norms and flaws in design, coupled with poor quality construction, make most buildings vulnerable to earthquakes.
If a Nepal-like quake hits Indian cities, the devastation will be colossal. Building collapses cause immense loss of lives and property. This can be limited, even prevented, by designing and constructing structures to withstand strong tremors.
— M.C. Joshi, Lucknow
Brand Bengal
Mamata Banerjee has proved that she can fight all odds and be West Bengal’s undisputed leader, like B.C. Roy and Jyoti Basu (‘Her winning spree’,
IE, April 30). This is no mean achievement. But, on the debit side, anti-social forces enjoy supremacy in the state and hold government, police and citizens captive. The chief minister has shown no inclination to stop this, having perfected the Left Front’s art of co-opting them in governance. Larger issues of democracy, civil liberty and citizens’ security are involved. In today’s Bengal, you are good only if you are with Banerjee and her party. However, the CPM, BJP and Congress have to reorient their strategies to counter this brand
of politics.
— Parthasarathy Sen, New Delhi
Need for NJAC
CJI H.L. Dattu may have strong personal views on the selection of judges. But as head of the country’s judiciary, his refusal to attend a meeting to select expert members of the NJAC sends a wrong signal. It may imply the CJI is revealing his mind, which might put the bench under pressure. This is precisely why the general perception is anti the collegium system. If the judgment goes against the NJAC, it may create a constitutional impasse.
— H.R.B. Satyanarayana, Saraswathipuram
Girls’ Education
The status of girls’ education in our country is disheartening. The rate of enrolment of girls in primary and upper
primary is not encouraging, despite government initiatives and provisions for the girl child’s education. This shows a lack of awareness. More efforts are needed, from not only the government but also the general public, to
universalise girls’ right to education. The aim must be to get every girl
educated, so as to enable them to live on par with boys in society.
— Geetika Keim, New Delhi
Public School, Vikaspuri
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