The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Improve standard of highways

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Tuesday, Jul 14, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Improve standard of highways

The recently laid East Coast Road from Nagapattinam to Ramanathapuram with international quality is a model for an expressway. But even our National Highways (NH) and State Highways (SH) are in a bad shape with steep curves and too many speed-breakers and with a lot of ups and downs at many points. Why not our highways are also improved to international standard removing all speed breakers, installing modern traffic amenities and ensure quick and smooth road travel? I appeal to the Central and State governments to improve all the highways and rural roads and widen them wherever needed.

Asmabagh Anvardeen,

Ramanathapuram.

Retrieve Kachchativu

In the Palk Strait, it is a routine phenomenon that Lankan Navy has been attacking the Tamil Nadu fishermen near Kachchativu.

Prawns are available in plenty near Kachchativu lying 10 miles North West of Rameswaram. The Raja of Ramanathapuram was leasing this island to private persons before the abolition of zamindari. The island was so named because of the kacha (dirty) water in it. The survey number is 1250 and its extent of 285.20 acres. The island was within the jurisdiction of the Narnam of Rameswaram. Fishermen frequented this land for fishing for several centuries and as such this cannot be attributed as avarice of the fishermen.

This island was ceded to Lanka under a treaty in 1974 with specific conditions, including fishing rights near Kachchativu and permission for drying nets on the island by Indian fishermen. Subsequently the clauses were removed for the reasons best known to Lanka.

India should not have ceded Kachchativu . It was however, now a fait accompli, so the State Government should offer practical inputs in the making of India’s foreign policy.

Unless Kachchativu is retrieved, it is feared that there will be no salvation from the indiscriminate attacks on fishermen by the Lankan Navy.

G. Nagasamy,

Madurai.

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