The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Alarming trend

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Tuesday, Sep 30, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Alarming trend

Hectic activity is witnessed on the hills towards the north of Seethammadhara North Extension layout with people busy encroaching upon the hills from the foot to more than half-way up. Normally, some are seen going towards the hills to answer calls of nature, carrying with them a water bottle. On Sunday, there was a steady stream of people and those living in the vicinity wondered why. A look at a the hill slopes said it all. There were markings and some began to pitch tents.

When P.V. Narasimha Rao visited the city as Prime Minister, he was aghast at the sight of encroachments of hills and wanted the authorities to do something about it. But encroachment of hills is alarmingly on the rise. While the plight of the poor can be understood and the Government should provide them housing, the denuding of the hills burning the greenery to pitch tents and encroaching upon them cannot be said to be in the interests of the environment. The Government which has so many housing schemes, should expedite their implementation and at the same time ensure that the hills are not denuded.

Ringing an alarm

Ever since cell phone became an essential communication tool for a majority, ring tones have always engaged people’s attention. When left alone, it is the favourite pastime of many to listen to the ring tones and change theirs. That’s before download became a rage. Now there is a bewildering variety and range. Right from devotional and patriotic to the latest hit and old melodies people can choose their favourite.

Several police officials have the youthful “Arere, arere, manase jare…” from the campus hit “Happy Days” as ring tone. Inspirational song “Maunamagane edagamani…” song has also become quite a favourite. Current Hindi and Telugu hits keep changing. But after a series of blasts in several parts of the country, the city police have introduced a ring tone on their phones. It warns people to be wary of the any suspicious movements of individuals or strangers and of any unclaimed object and vehicles that have been abandoned.

“All of us have this ring tone. It creates an alert for the caller. Our counterparts from other parts of the State may download it if they want,” says a Circle Inspector. For once ring tones are ringing in an alarm.

Prabhakkar Sharma and G.V. Prasada Sarma

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