Electoral reforms overdue

The mercurial Mamata Banerjee’s deft move does provide some food for thought (‘Mamata to take on turncoat Suvendu on his home turf’). Coming events cast their shadows. Rahul Gandhi contesting from a second seat, besides Amethi, revealed the outcome in advance. Any sitting MLA contesting to be an MP or vice versa, as also anyone vacating one of the two seats won, results in a byelection, betraying the trust of electors and costing the exchequer adversely.

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Lalit Bharadwaj, Panchkula

Garbage management

Apropos of ‘Swan turns into waste dumping ground’, why doesn’t the state government give preference to waste management at the local level? Why does the Una municipal corporation throw garbage into the Swan river? Why doesn’t the state government advocate sustainable development? For the past few years, the HP Government has started focusing on economic development, keeping aside matters related to waste management. There are very few gram panchayats in the state that have a proper garbage management system. If the government doesn’t wake up, a time will come when Himachal will no longer be a pollution-free state. The government must work to protect greenery in the state.

Ritish Pandit, Dehra Gopipur

Crop diversification

In reference to ‘A half-hearted push’, it is being observed that farmers are wary of crop diversification as they are not confident of cold storage infrastructure and price guarantee for their perishable produce. The government should take these points into consideration. Before implementing new farm laws, it is required to win the confidence of the farming community. It should first be tried in states where farmers and governments are ready to accept the new laws. Some states should be made role model in this respect. Implementation at the all-India level in one go is fraught with grave consequences. Even wealth advisers suggest that one’s savings should not be put into a single basket. It applies to the government as well as the farmers. Crop diversification will succeed automatically if some states come out as a successful model.

Rajesh Goyal, by mail

Female workforce

Given that men continue to be considered as the principal earning member of a household, women are unlikely to accept poor quality jobs. India’s biggest challenge on the employment front is getting its women folk into the labour force. While 67 per cent of all men of working age are employed, it is only 9 per cent in the case of women. This gap between men and women in the workforce is the potential labour available to deploy productively in economic activities.

SC Dhall, Zirakpur

Not feasible

Apropos of ‘Culling of birds not feasible, Hry tells Centre’, our medical researchers should give importance to inventing a vaccine so that bird flu can be prevented. The outbreak of this disease has been reported regularly putting at stake the livelihoods of a large number of people. A way needs to be found to safeguard the poultry business. I believe that our researchers are competent enough to invent such a vaccine.

Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad

Keep the preachings

Refer to ‘Waste of a good lesson’; we listen to preachers with all enthusiasm and try to follow the norms, but as soon as the katha or pravachan (sermon) is over, we run to attend the daily chores, leaving all the preachings behind. We need to create inner strength and courage to carve our own destiny. All religions and sects preach compassion for the underprivileged and deprived. Service to mankind is service to God. We should help all beings and create an atmosphere in which there is respect, love and caring for everyone, especially the elders. Only this attitude will mean revering the Almighty in true sense.

Raj Kumar Kapoor, Ropar

Blinding high beam

I would like to highlight the problem being faced on the roads during night driving when vehicles coming from the opposite side use headlights on high beam. It is a serious driving risk and the cause of so many accidents during the night. Even on city roads, there is no check. Decades back, by the order of the government, one had to blacken the upper half of the headlight with a black strip so that the high beam was not visible and the vehicles would drive in safe mode. Law enforcement agencies must implement the same law or other stricter rules against the use of high beam. Heavy penalty should be imposed on such vehicles.

Col KJ Singh (Retd), Panchkula

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