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

Villages in sync with cities

The Punjab Government’s decision to widen all roads along canals to open up interiors of Punjab’s hinterland would be quite cost effective (news report ‘90 pc of NHs to be four-laned in a year: Sukhbir’, November 26). The rural population, becoming increasingly dependent on personal transport, would heartily welcome this development. In this context, one may suggest some significant ‘kacha’ roads along canals that need to be widened and metalled. For example, the canal crossing NH1 east of Goraya industrial town goes through interior of Manjki area of Phillaur tehsil. Its widening and metalling would take off heavy traffic from Goraya to Jandiala through Rurka Kalan and also provide easy access to commuters of many villages.

Further, commuters can avoid heavy congestion near Goraya Chowk. Later with railway overbridge east of Goraya, the proposed canal road would serve as a much-needed bypass of Goraya without additional expenditure. Social returns on minor projects like these would be very high.

AUTAR S.DHESI, Amritsar

II

Our priorities of progress and development are so lopsided that we have failed to take notice of a large population of our people who do not have access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Swanky luxury cars, fancy mobiles, latest gizmos and gadgets and state–of-art spectrum technology are just one side of what the real India is.

YOGESHWAR DAVAR, Hisar

III

The real cause of Punjabi fading as the preferred language of reading is the unscientific approach of the so called model and public schools towards the students’ mother tongue ( News report “Punjabi dying as the preferred language of reading”, November 30). Sometimes teachers ask young pupils to converse in Hindi or English not in Punjabi with their parents. When students of public/model schools grow up and go to colleges, they loose interest in Punjabi when the question arises of reading anything besides syllabi books. Such is not the case with south Indian languages where people love and prefer their mother tongue.

VIDWAN SINGH SONI, Patiala

Necessary change

A minor change in the design of the banknotes is desirable in public interest (news report ‘Rs 500, Rs 10 banknotes with rupee symbol soon’ November 23). The right hand upper corner is the most used part of a banknote. As the serial number of the banknote is printed only a few millimeters away from the margin, it soon gets soiled and mutilated rendering it unacceptable to general public as well as the nationalised and private banks. My suggestion is that the Reserve Bank of India should consider the feasibility of shifting the serial number a few millimeters to the left of the margin.

BS SAINI, Gurgaon

Showing disrespect to a martyr How a state and its people respect their martyrs is quite visible in this almost sacrilegious act which I have witnessed. My son, Avtar Singh Chhetra, Superintendant of Police, Tarn Taran, was killed in June 1989 in an encounter with terrorists. He was cremated in his native village Hajipur with full state honours. He was decorated with three gallantry medals. To keep his memories alive, I built his samadhi with a memorial gate at the site in my farm. A former sarpanch has opened a liquor vend in a room meant for his tubewell close to the samadhi with malafide intentions. Despite bringing it to the notice of the administration and the police authorities, no action was taken. It is a disgrace to the nation that the supreme sacrifice of a martyr is being treated in such a blatant and casual manner. JASWANT SINGH CHHETRA, Ropar