The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Madurai News : Readers' Mail

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 19, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Readers' Mail

Lessons tsunami taught

Sir, — The havoc caused by the tsunami disaster to thousands of poor families cannot be described in words. But the spontaneous financial and physical help pouring from the entire country and abroad speaks about the concern people have in mind in times of such crisis.

India has a long coastline and we should take all possible steps to safeguard it from such an attack from now on.

Rehabilitation of affected families and providing necessary infrastructure has to be prioritised and completed within a short span of time.

Another important task is to depute counselling experts to these areas to make the people mentally prepared to face the future with confidence.

Tsunami warning systems have to be installed, covering the entire coastline and the cost factor has to be bypassed considering the human lives involved.

As mangrove forests near seashores have saved many villages, the State Governments, along with non-governmental organisations, should concentrate on raising such plantations along the entire coast. Business houses can also involve themselves in this massive task. After all, man has to live with nature for his very survival. Human settlements should not be allowed within 500 metres from the seashore. All natural calamities mostly affect the poor rendering their future bleak. Donations received should be properly utilised with utmost care with the help of independent observers.

T. Srinivasa Rengan,

Madurai.

Stray dogs

Sir, — I am a student residing in Sri Meenakshi Nagar of P&T Colony. Stray dogs strike terror among residents in our area. The public in general and children in particular are scared of walking along our street. The stray dogs also bark all the time disturbing students who prepare for examinations. It is not that we hate dogs or cruel to them. Will the authorities take action to rid our area of stray dog menace?

M.A. Uttara,

Madurai.

Crack the whip

Sir, — The photograph on page 3 of The Hindu , Jan. 6, showing a bus halting in the middle of the road after crossing the `stop line' in Madurai and another photograph on page 3 of the issue dated Jan 10, showing a neatly dressed youth jumping over the fence of the road median to reach the other side, graphically bring out the `chaos' on roads as a result of violation of traffic rules without any fear of punishment. It is as if anybody could bend or break any rule at his own sweet will and pleasure and get away with it. The Temple City is notorious for its traffic snarls and hold-ups all through the day and night thanks to lack of self-discipline and utter disregard for even elementary traffic rules exhibited in more than one way by many road users. And the lack of will on the part of law-enforcing authorities to crack the whip against offenders also has contributed a great deal to the worsening of the situation.

Against this background of an all-round deterioration, observance of Road Safety Week with its usual quota of processions, speeches etc has certainly become a meaningless ritual involving a lot of wastage of money, time and energy. Violations such as overtaking from the left, wrong parking, crossing the stop line at traffic junctions right under the `watchful eyes' of traffic constables, ignoring one-way traffic etc do merrily take place almost everywhere.

Since awareness campaigns through distribution of pamphlets, loudspeaker announcements, slides in cinema theatres and speeches have failed to have the desired effect, the only way left appears to be to enforce the traffic rules ruthlessly. The police should swing into action without wasting any more time. This is urgently needed to bring about some semblance of order to the city traffic.

D. Samuel Lawrence,

Madurai.

Holidays

Sir, — At present, all State Government and Central Government offices remain closed for more than 16 days a year under the Negotiable Instruments Act. Instead of losing so many working days, the Governments should declare two days as holidays for each religion - among Pongal, Deepavali, Christmas, Good Friday, Ramzan and Bakrid, and the remaining days may be awarded to employees as optional holidays. This will certainly help in increasing the working days.

M.S. Raghavan,

Madurai.

Do it for the waitlisted

Sir, — The Southern Railway deserves to be congratulated for its timely action in running special trains whenever there is a heavy rush of passengers during festive season or holidays. These trains are run based on demand of passengers decided by the number of passengers on the waiting list and the sole purpose of running them is intended to clear waitlisted passengers.

It is suggested that a suitable system be devised to ascertain the option of passengers for their reservation application to be automatically shifted to special trains as and when they are run, by making a provision in the application form to indicate their choice. This will save passengers from repeating the agony and ordeal of waiting in long queues to get their original application cancelled and present a fresh application for the special train.

By such an arrangement, the passengers will also stand to gain the reservation fee of Rs. 10 per ticket. The Railway authorities should be willing to consider this passenger-friendly suggestion for implementation since it will not be fair to collect cancellation fee when the passenger cancels his journey only for lack of accommodation in a particular train and to book accommodation in an alternative special train. Though in the technical sense it is a cancellation, it is virtually a case of `transfer' from one train to another that was not on the cards at the time of booking.

K. Muthiah,

Madurai.

Disturbing facts

Sir, — It is disturbing to learn the following facts:

In the year 2003, there were 3, 400 fatalities in the State involving motor cycle/scooter drivers; among them 3,000 died of head injuries; their lives could have been saved had they worn crash helmets; in Chennai alone one motorcyclist died every alternate day in traffic accidents.

The situation in the same year was no different in Madurai where the number of fatal accidents shot up to 107 ( The Hindu Jan.6).

Wearing of crash helmets, that too only those certified, should be made compulsory for two-wheeler riders. It should not be left to their own volition. In countries where helmet wearing is mandatory, the road surface is as per prescribed standards. Hence riding on roads with too many hazards results in cervical spondylitis. It is therefore imperative for the State to improve road conditions speedily for a smoother ride.

For their part, vehicle users also need to strictly adhere to traffic rules, the breach of which should lead to suspension of their driving licence, as fines imposed for violations do not have the desired effect. Moreover, procedures for getting a driving licence ought to be made more rigorous as in some advanced countries.

One hopes that with the introduction of such measures the rate of road accidents could be brought down.

V. Krishnamoorthy,

Madurai.

Madurai.

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