M A I L B A G

Decline of Indian cricket

The performance of the Indian cricket team has shattered the World Cup dreams of the Indians, who were confident that the cricket team would repeat history by ensuring victory.

The defeat of the team at the hands of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka sealed the fate of the Indian cricket team to win the World Cup. Millions of cricket lovers were upset over the performance of the Indian cricket team. It’s an issue of national shame for the Indian cricket. Those responsible for this humiliating defeat should quit their post.

Simmi Mohindru, Jalandhar

II

The ouster of the Indian cricket team from Super-8 World Cup 2007 league is a question of the future prospects of the Indian cricket. Is it the declining standard of the Indian cricket? Why have the coach, president, captain and the players not stepped down?

Parul Mohindru, Jalandhar

III

The Men in Blue were never in contention for the World Cup, considering their recent dismal performances abroad. The idea that they were the front-runners for the trophy was falsely manufactured and spread via commercials throughout the country by brand companies in order to market their products. But in doing so, they have played with the hearts of  millions of Indians.

Obviously, each one of us may have dreamt of a victory for Team India but the aspirations may not have reached the level of “invincibility” had there not been so much cheap publicity of the concept.  These companies must be brought to book for spreading such misinformation through their advertisements for commercial gains.

Safiya Sameena, Vijayawada

Corruption in Goa

The coming Goa Assembly elections are very crucial. Going by the levels of migrants steadily invading Goa, these elections could well be the last where the Goan vote would be of any consequence. Goa is a very small state and could have been ideally managed but we have too many politicians that we can do without.

Remaining mere spectators at election time would only help continue and further deteriorate the pathetic state of governance that we are experiencing.

Goans would have to take a conscientious stand and support the party that can deliver and free this state from the alarming levels of corruption and maladministration that Goa is gripped in. And Save Our Goa for Goans, a goal we cannot achieve by remaining “apolitical”.

Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar (Goa)

Nursery admissions

The Ganguly Committee Report on Nursery Admissions is an eyewash. However, the criteria prescribed by the report such as distance, sibling girl, child, alumnus and parents’ education will prevent brilliant children from getting admissions.

The point of preference for the girl child for admission does not give equal educational opportunities to the boy child. This is against the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution. The criterion of alumnus indicates the generation continuance of the children’s admission to the nursery.

Even parents’ education is unjustifiable. If the children are intelligent and brilliant, and their parents are not educated, then this point of the Ganguly report is wrong. The uneducated parents have every right to get their children educated. The Ganguly Committee report should be modified to ease the system of admission to nursery classes.

SONALI BHARGAVA, New Delhi

Pollution by jhuggis

Sure enough your readers would share the prevailing concern at Panchkula over the encroachment on public land by strangers. As anybody, including the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), can see it, a large number of the allotted plots have been lying vacant or part-built in this partially developed municipal town as their owners go on postponing construction with an eye on future profit.

The resultant encroachment by outsiders of vast open spaces has become a standing nuisance to decent neighbours. How and why? They ease in the open, causing stink; their open kitchens and fire emit smoke and pollute the atmosphere which triggers off serious allergies and breathing diseases.

Illegal occupants would not vacate easily. There is a visible tendency towards multiplication of such occupants. They tend to turn violent on being asked to vacate, posing a law and order problem.

Sector 21 of Panchkula (where this writer lives) has hundreds of middle-class houses that read The Tribune. It has a police outpost headed by a sub-inspector. In January, I got my complaint registered about smoke emitted by a newly raised jhuggi in my neighbourhood. Yet another neighbour told me the other day that jhuggis had begun to advance towards his well-ventilated house. It would not be a surprise if the growing number of jhuggis start causing environmental pollution.

Public interest demands urgent action by the local authorities to halt unauthorised occupation by undesirable settlers.

Tribhuvan Nath, Panchkula