Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

Readers' Mail

Direct train

Sir, — Guntur is one of the railway division recently formed in the South Central Railway. But there is no direct train facility from Guntur railway junction to the district headquarters. I request the railway authorities to provide direct train facility from Guntur junction to Machilipatnam, Eluru and Ongole.

I also request the authorities to provide express train service between Guntur and Nizamabad via Nadikude, Secunderbad after completing the gauge conversion between Falaknuma and Nizamabad.

P. V. Hanumantha Rao,

Narsaraopet

Pushkaram surcharge

Sir, — I had reserved a seat on August 24 in an A/C chair car in the Janmabhoomi Express from Vijayawada to Visakhapatnam, which was scheduled to leave on August 31. After I boarded the train, the Ticket Collector collected Rs. 7 as `Pushkaram surcharge' from all the passengers. There was a big uproar from all stating that they were not informed about any such surcharge. But they reluctantly obliged the ticket collector as law-abiding citizens.

But I personally felt that imposition of such additional charges should be preceded by prior public announcement to avoid public criticism and inconvenience to passengers.

K. L. Prasad,

Vijayawada

Tackling gastroenteritis

Sir, — In view of the recurrent cases of gastroenteritis in the State I have the following suggestions to make, particularly for those living in and around the Krishna river belt.

People should consume only protected water preferably boiled water. All food items should be properly covered. Outside food exposed to flies, mosquitoes and other insects should not be consumed. Stale food should be avoided. Surroundings should be kept neat and clean. Disinfectants should be used, which can be either phenyl or bleaching powder. Oral rehydration packs should be kept ready in every house. Any case of diarrhoea or gastroenteritis should be reported immediately to the nearest health centre or hospital.

H. Kalyan Rao,

Guntur

Scrap quota system

Sir, — There is no justification for continuation of reservations in jobs and educational institutions, as those communities enjoying the benefits are now already on par in their social and economic status with other communities.

Removal of reservations would also help the reserved communities progress further, as they would be competing in a highly competitive atmosphere with the OBCs and thus improve their own future.

Hence, there is a need to scrap reservations for all categories. This is the only way to safeguard the country.

B. V. Subrahmanya Sastry,Bapatla

Reckless auto drivers

Sir, — I am deeply distressed at the pathetic traffic conditions prevailing in Vijayawada. The main culprits are the auto drivers who squeeze through traffic giving scant respect for rules and safety of people on the road.

Since there is no check on their reckless driving an increasing number of auto drivers are flouting rules with utter disdain for law.

Such auto drivers need to be disciplined by cancelling their licenses. This would act as a deterrent for others of their ilk.

The other road users are also least bothered about maintaining traffic discipline. Most of the riders jump signals if there are no traffic constables around. The zebra crossings are meant for pedestrians, but since the latter do not use it, motorists callously stop their vehicles at these crossings waiting for the traffic to clear.

The dividers are also proving to be a curse. They should have been of a higher dimension without leaving any room for crossing. I wish that at least the next generation would come to terms with rules.

A. R. Mukkala,

Vijayawada

Inhuman act

Sir, — The unprecedented hostage crisis in the Russian town of Beslan last week was shocking. We have come across so many cruel deeds of terrorists in different parts of the world, that we have become thick skinned and immune to such inhuman acts. But so far there is no parallel for the barbarian act that happened in Russia.

I find no words enough to express such devilish acts on the part of terrorists. Humanity should condemn this heinous act, despite knowing that terrorists are not going to change by such condemnation.

Yet, I feel that all schools in the world should have declared a protest holiday and held condolence meetings. Such a move could have made children sensitive to the problem. It would have made children understand the perils of terrorism and the threat posed by terrorists to mankind.

T. Aruna,

Ongole

KCR remarks

in bad taste

Sir, — The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president, K. Chandrashekar Rao's recent diatribe against the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president, Sonia Gandhi, was in bad taste. The remarks and the subsequent retraction made by Mr. Rao reflect the culture of the TRS leader. Mr. Rao is known for enthusing party workers with his hard-hitting comments and speeches. But I feel that leaders in such high positions should learn to be selective while using such offensive words, otherwise they are bound to invite trouble.

Leaders should act as role models to their followers. It is necessary that leaders observe restraint in their public utterances, so that they command respect and love of the people.

K. Kameswara Rao,

Mortha

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