The Hindu : New Delhi News : Reader's Mail

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 25, 2006
ePaper

New Delhi

New Delhi

Reader's Mail

Happy New Year....

There comes another New Year. And along with it the revelry on New Year's Eve. The 31st of December will witness hotels, restaurants and resorts overflowing with merrymakers.

They will dance and drink to glory. Some will overdo it and pitch out. Some will get into brawls.

There will be overspeeding and accidents. And a large number of them will be down with a hangover on New Year's Day. Hence hardly any work will get done by all these people on the first day of the year. All the big New Year resolutions they made the previous night will be forgotten.

Is this the way we should be starting the New Year? Or should it be a day packed with positive work, full of vigour and cheer? Should it not be a day on which we all contribute something for the poor, and avoid corruption for at least 24 hours? If we can't do this, then all the New Year resolutions and celebrations are a waste of money and time. It is also a slap on the face of 320 million people who won't even get a proper meal on the 31st night when many of us will be drinking to glory along with chicken tikka and shahi paneer.

May I mention how we as an Army unit intend to celebrate the New Year? The day will start at a mandir/gurdwara/masjid in the morning where all ranks will pray collectively with the families and children. It will be followed, after breakfast, by small arms firing to sharpen the shooting skills of the troops. After that, we will have one hour of tactical/professional training.

Come lunch time, and the men will be treated to a good meal.

In the evening we will have the games parade in which all officers, JCOs and jawans will play basketball or volleyball or football, etc. Later in the evening we will have "bara khana". The families and children of the jawans will be invited. First there will be an entertainment programme by our troops. Children will be encouraged to show their talents. As Commandant, the father of the organisation, I will distribute prizes to the winners and gifts to the families and children. Thereafter we will all sit together and enjoy a sumptuous dinner round a camp fire. We will recall the unit's achievements over the year that has just passed by. We will call it a day after resolving to continue serving the nation with utmost sincerity, honesty and dedication.

What better way to start the New Year than this? Happy New Year!

Colonel R.D. Singh,
Commandant,
213 Transit Camp,
Jammu Cantt (J&K) -
180 004.

Insurance pangs

I approached an agent of Bajaj Allainz, V.K. Arora, for health insurance. He advised me and my husband to get our health check done at Diwan Chand Metropolis. Accordingly we got our health check-up done on the 24th of October.

Since then I have paid the insurance premium through two cheques. But Mr. Arora has returned one cheque with information that my health policy proposal has been rejected.

When asked about the reason, he could not give one. Nor has Bajaj Allianz given me my health report. Mr. Arora has been in constant touch with them. Fifty days is too long a period for a company to hold on to any one's health reports. I am worried about my health.

I request Bajaj Allianz to give my reports immediately so that I can take care of my health.

K. Parijatha,
9 Doctors' Apartments,
Vasundhara Enclave,
Delhi - 110 096.

Manali in a mess

On a trip to Manali recently I was much dismayed to observe that Himachal Pradesh, a State that boasts some of the most beautiful hill stations in India, has fallen a victim to exploitation and neglect. Exploitation by the tourist infrastructure and neglect by successive State Governments.

The airport is located near Kulu. From there to Manali, a distance of 40 km, taxis charge Rs. 900, which by any standards is exorbitant. From my hotel I had to shell out Rs.100 to reach The Mall, the main shopping centre, three km away.

The authorities have done nothing to check this exploitation.

It is a nightmare to drive on the potholed roads, which are never repaired.

The hotels demand heavy tariffs but have precious little to offer by way of basic facilities such as proper heating during winter. In fact, they are hand in glove with the taxi and transport operators, who together exploit the tourists.

Over the years there has been an uncontrolled felling of deodar and pine forests, leading to landslides and degeneration of the ecology. Garbage is littered everywhere and both tourists and locals as well as the civic authorities are to blame for this.

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visits Manali almost every summer, but he has never highlighted the civic problems of the town to the authorities concerned. No doubt he being an ex-PM would not know the difficulties of the common tourist, but he surely would have driven over all those broken roads.

The only saving grace of Manali today is the very good power situation thanks to multiple small sized hydel projects, as also the locals, the Himachalis, who are very kind and helpful.

V. B. N. Ram,
A 441, Defence Colony,
New Delhi - 110 024.

In the net

With the big boom in technology, the Internet is becoming an indispensable part of our life. Just log on to the Net and you get creative space and instant communication, which efface your loneliness. But once you develop a penchant for it, you get trapped in the warp zone and turn into an anti-social element.

Bi... n..tc... (meaning: Bye and take care) ... that's how the new SMS generation hooked to the Net calls it a day. We should likewise make sure they make the Internet part of their life, not all of it !

Gaurav Kumar,

B.Tech, V Semester,
Mech Engg,
IIT Guwahati,
Guwahati.

(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".)

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi