L E T T E R S    T O    T H E    E D I T O R

Bold policies must for India’s progress

H K Dua in his front-page editorial, “Dr Manmohan Singh can now go in for bold policies” (May 25) has rightly advised Dr Manmohan Singh to go in for bold policies. No doubt, Dr Singh is held in high regard by the Indian middle class yet he has still to prove himself as the Prime Minister of the “aam aadmi”. For achieving this laudable goal, he will have to focus on removing regional imbalances plaguing poor states, tackle poverty and unemployment in rural and urban areas, revamp agriculture and provide better health facilities and education to the poorest of the poor.

The most appreciable trait of Dr Singh is his humility that has endeared him to the vast sections of the Indian populace. The Congress has certainly benefited from his clean image. Now, the Congress has a historical opportunity to incorporate backward castes, Dalits, minorities and economically poor sections of society into the organisational fold of the party. The “bold policies” of the UPA government should ensure communal harmony, elimination of terrorism and corruption besides providing gainful jobs for the youth.

RAJ BAHADUR YADAV, Fatehabad

TARSEM S BUMRAH, Batala

III

Now we can hope that in the next five years, India will be on the path of progress. Dr Manmohan Singh’s government has to find solutions for many pressing concerns. Problems like unemployment, poverty, corruption and recession are staring us in the eye and the government has to address these issues on a priority basis.

KHAZAN SINGH, Kapurthala

Funding elections

The election verdict has brought cheer to the people for they have been rid of manipulative coalition politics. Still one aspect of elections is worrying. The blatant use of money power during the election campaigns has been most shocking. Dr Manmohan Singh will be doing a yeoman’s service to the country if he can ensure state funding of the elections. It will lead to transparency in public life, which is the need of the hour.

DR NARESH RAJ, Patiala

Painting roofs white The suggestion given in the article “Paint your roof white, says climate guru” (May 29) by Steve Connor was apt, simple and economical. Steven Chu, the US Secretary of Energy and a Nobel prize-winning scientist, has said that making roofs and pavements white or light-coloured would help to reduce global warming by both conserving energy and reflecting sunlight back into space. It is indeed amazing that such a simple and practical suggestion could be the equivalent of taking all the cars in the world off the road for 11 years. We should all paint our roofs white for it will make air-conditioning more effective and thus will help conserve energy. If we use light coloured cars, the same logic will be extended to the airconditioning of cars and once again we will save on energy. Due to the ecological imbalance and increase in ultra-violet radiation, global warming is increasing and adversely affecting our lives. Green plants also help reduce global warming. Other measures like a ban on burning of crop straws, too, will go a long way in combating global warming. As pointed out in the article, small steps can make a big difference. KAMALJIT MALWA, Mansa