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Rape in Noida is a national shame

I fully endorse the editorial “Lawless Noida” (Jan 8). Indeed, Noida could have become the pride of UP because it is not too far from New Delhi.But an ideal location, fine infrastructure and good living are of no use if there is a constant security threat to the life and property of the common man. People migrate to developed cities for better opportunities, but certainly not at the cost of their lives.

The Nithari kaand, Aarushi-Hemraj murder and many other incidents have tarnished the image of not only Noida but of the entire nation. Nearly, every day heinous crimes are being committed in Noida and the police remains clueless. It should modernise its working style in sync with the new lifestyle of metros where people work and entertain till late in the night. Of course, this shameful incident happened at around 5 pm and that too near the busy shopping mall of Noida.

The culprits should be given no less than a death penalty, so that the punishment acts as a deterrent. It is the duty of the UP government to improve the image of Noida. Speedy justice must be provided to the aggrieved girl whose life and dreams must have been shattered.

ARVIND DHUMAL, Advocate Jalandhar

II

It is clear that mayhem reigns in Noida. Extortion, lynching and supari killings are routine in this so-called modern hub. The deaf and blind administration doesn’t bother to take concrete steps. There is no effort to increase police patrolling. The public must take a collective stand and force the administration to take action.

DR S P SINGH, Kapurthala

Protect or quit

The editorial, “Govern or quit” (Jan 7) was sensible. India is not a theocratic state where religious fanatics can hound out minorities. Some communal organisations have made the life of Christians miserable and appalling in Kandhamal. Such abominable actions are not acceptable in a pluralistic country like ours.

Christians have been mindlessly targeted for no fault of theirs. If the communal organisations have the guts, they should have taken on the Maoists who allegedly killed Swami Laxmananda Saraswati.The Constitution of India clearly mandates the central and state governments to protect the life of minorities. Those who have murdered, looted and raped in Kandhamal must be booked. I appreciate the dictum “govern or quit” issued by the Supreme Court. The apex court has done well to bring out the apathy of the Orissa government towards the plight of Christians.

RAJ BAHADUR YADAV, Fatehabad

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It is ironical that the apex court of this country had to be so harsh towards the Orissa government that it had to issue strict direction, asking it to quit, if it couldn’t protect its citizens. In our country, the administration has become so passive that rowdy anti-social elements rule the roost. Not only minorities, but also people at large have to suffer.

We organise seminars, workshops on good governance for government functionaries. Much debate and discussion takes place at public expense but it seems that no lessons are learnt. I hope that the court’s reprimand will teach a lesson to the Orissa government and others will take a cue, as well.

PURAN SINGH, Assistant Professor, Haryana Institute of Rural Development, Nilokheri

Unjustified strike

The strike of oil sector PSU’s, which caused enormous losses to the nation at a critical juncture, was most unjustified. The officers are, as it is, very well paid and the government had already given them a substantial pay- hike.

The government should take strong action against the errant employees and sack all those who held the nation to ransom. This will send the right signal to the nation that the government does not bend under pressure and only means business, which is in the larger interest of the nation.

MANOJ SARIN, Jalandhar

Means and ends

I entirely agree with Major-Gen Pushpendra Singh’s letter “We must have clear guarantees from Pakistan” (Jan 9) that no offensive can succeed unless it’s goal is defined with clarity. However, we have to distinguish between goals and the means to achieve the same or to borrow from military jargon, between strategy and tactics.

I have no doubt that there is no lack of clarity in the minds of those who have launched the diplomatic offensive on the terror front about its goals. The possible means for their attainment include, as mentioned in my article “Fight against terrorism” (Jan 6), the mobilisation of international pressure, with the active involvement of the U.N. in support of our efforts. It is precisely this involvement of the world community that sets apart the current offensive from the diplomatic efforts that led to the Shimla Agreement and the Lahore Accord.

I S CHADHA, Chandigarh

Invest in infrastructure The economic package announced by Dr. Montek Singh, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, early this month will be inadequate and shall not be able to stimulate the economy. The present economic slowdown has been induced by two factors — excessive construction in the real estate and increased production in auto sectors — resulting in sluggish demand. The real estate and auto sector will take a long time for revival because of saturation in demand. The right step to boost the economy would be to spend massively on productive infrastructure projects. The package does provide for completion of pending projects in the road and port sectors. But the real breakthrough will be achieved if heavy investments are made in water resources and hydro-power development, electrification of railway tracks, dairy development and horticulture projects in north- eastern states and all weather roads through tunnels in hill states, promotion of foreign investment projects. There is no other shortcut to grapple the problem of economic recession. RAM NIWAS MALIK, Engineer-in-Chief (retd), Gurgaon