The Hindu : New Delhi News : Reader's Mail

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 23, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Reader's Mail

Shocking

The past few weeks have seen several cases of violence and criminal assault against women in the two major metros of Delhi and Mumbai. While the protests voiced by angry Mumbaikars have compelled the authorities there to dismiss the erring police constable from service, we Delhiwallahs have turned a deaf ear to the cries of the girl who almost had an acid-bath, courtesy a person who claims to "love" her and could not take "no" for an answer.

Another high-voltage shock came when a convicted rapist filed an application in court proposing to marry his victim two years after committing the ghastly crime in a hospital on a winter night.

These are only some of the cases which get reported. There are hundreds of other such heinous cases which go unreported. To add insult to injury, the likes of Shiv Sena activists accuse the rape victims of "provoking" the men and in a way imply that those who dress in a certain manner deserve to be raped. I don't know how they would explain the cases of rape of girls as young as three to four years of age by men their father's age -- and cases where the accused are close relatives of the victim.

The need of the hour is gender sensitisation for men. Right from childhood, boys are brought up on the fancy notion that they are superior to the opposite sex. Of course, this is not to say that all men perpetuate violence against women, but unfortunately a vast majority of them do. What is needed is the involvement of "rational" men in the mission to inculcate the value of gender equality.

Sneha Banerjee,

B.A. (Honours) Political Science 1st Year,

Miranda House,

University of Delhi,

Delhi - 110 007

Uneasy calm

I wonder why not much hue and cry has been raised over the gruesome acid attack on a 7th Class girl working in the Capital's Khan Market recently. The media, the NGOs, the political leaders, the Brindas have been rather quiet about the case. We heard only Ms. Girija Vyas condemning the horrible act and someone from the Delhi Commission for Women has visited the hapless, tormented girl in hospital just once.

This terrible act of throwing acid needs to be condemned outright. Have the media, the NGOs, et al, lost their voice only because the victim here belongs to a poor, illiterate family living in a servant's quarters in the posh Golf Links area?

Lalima Aneja Dang,

New Delhi.

New year

Lakshmi B. Ghosh's Campus Jottings column, "DU abuzz with activity" (May 12) points to the preparations being made in Delhi University and its colleges for admissions to the 2005-2006 academic session and for teaching the new courses being introduced this year.

For things to run smoothly, Delhi University must ensure that all colleges accept the ICR forms. It must also ensure that all relevant details about the new courses reach every college on time so that adequate preparations for teaching them in the new academic year can be made.

It will greatly help matters if a successor to the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Professor Deepak Nayyar, who bowed out of office on May 15, is quickly chosen and then he (or she) addresses the media on all the doubts which surround the admission process and the restructured courses. As of now, there are many grey areas on both counts.

Vinod Chowdhury,

Reader in Economics,

St. Stephen's College,

Delhi University,

Delhi - 110 007.

It's DTC

I am a resident of South Delhi and commute by bus every day. I notice that DTC buses, which are meant for public welfare, are hardly living up to their role.

I catch my bus at Qutub Enclave, and while standing there daily I see three or four Outer Mudrika buses arriving at the same time. Obviously only the first or at most the second bus gets filled. If you reach two minutes later, you have to wait for 10-15 minutes to catch the next bus.

The situation is worse at Safdarjung Hospital. I once saw seven DTC buses and three private buses plying at the same time on Ring Road near Safdarjung Hospital -- all bound for the same destination -- crowding the whole area!

Many a time these buses don't halt at the designated stops while at other times they halt at stops where there are no passengers. Most annoying is the behaviour of bus conductors who consider themselves supreme beings accountable to no one. The DTC authorities must do something to improve the state of affairs.

Jyoti Khandelwal,

Shubham Working

Women's Hostel,

Qutub Institutional Area,

New Delhi - 110 016.

Hello, MTNL....

I booked an MTNL Broadband Internet Services connection on March 24 vide WO No.112 2460 44079 to be provided on telephone No.24604393 at 13/472, Lodhi Colony, New Delhi. After a number of phone calls by me, somebody from the Jorbagh Exchange came and placed an ADSL router at my premises on April 4. After repeatedly contacting the SDO and the DE of Jorbagh Exchange, I finally got the connection on April 12 at about 5-15 p.m.

Only an erratic service was available till the 20th, and then it went off suddenly on the 21st. I made a complaint (No.2043) at 6 a.m. over telephone 1504/1600-111-172 and again at 3-15 p.m. the same day, since no action was initiated by MTNL. The connection was restored for a few hours, but again it went off on April 23, compelling me to make another complaint (No.2866) at 3-30 p.m.

This was not attended to by anybody though I followed it up by a number of phone calls, always getting an assurance from the other end that the complaint would be attended to the next day.

I again contacted the Help Desk at 7 a.m. on April 28 and as usual I got two calls from MTNL informing me that they would be sending somebody to attend to my complaint immediately and asked me to wait. But nobody turned up.

Again I contacted Mr. Meena, SDE (Broadband), over telephone No.24638700 on May 5 who assured me that he would send somebody to replace the ADSL router. But again no action!

Will somebody in MTNL respond to my complaints now with some action!!

Joy Joseph,

13/472, Lodhi Colony,

New Delhi - 110 003.

Three cheers

Heartiest congratulations to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh for winning the INTACH Award-2005 for promotion of heritage and tourism through his various initiatives. Well done, Sir, keep it up!

I would request the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, to draw inspiration from her counterpart in Punjab who has made a mark for himself while at the same time dealing tactfully and successfully with challenges posed by power-hungry rebel Congress MLAs.

Both Ms. Dikshit and Capt. Amarinder Singh are providing dynamic leadership to their States Delhi and Punjab, respectively, and possess a progressive outlook. Reading your news item, "Sheila willing to step down" (April 23), Sheila Dikshit's ardent fans and admirers like me had reason to feel highly perturbed. Who told her that she is an unwelcome guest? We Delhiites fully support her and want her to continue as our Chief Minister.

Lt.-Col (Retd)

Onkar Chopra,

Flat - 114 A, Block C2B,

Janakpuri,

New Delhi -- 110 058.

(Letters for this column may be sent by e-mail to wsins@thehindu.co.in. They must carry the full postal address of the writer and should be marked "Reader's Mail".)

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