Investment in rail welcome

Refer to the editorial ‘Rail infra push’; the initiative aimed at improving and augmenting railway infrastructure across the country is welcome. It is heartening to know that over 553 railway stations will be redeveloped under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme at an outlay of

Rs 19,000 crore. The redevelopment of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra railway station is significant as Katra serves as the base camp for pilgrims visiting the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine. The long hill trek from Katra to the shrine was earlier a kutcha pathway, which is now paved for the comfort of pilgrims. Katra is well connected through road, rail and air networks. Redeveloping the station is the need of the hour.

WG CDR CL Sehgal (retd), Jalandhar

Prioritise passengers’ safety

Apropos of ‘Rail infra push’; the government’s initiative to invest in railway infrastructure development projects is laudable. However, the recent rail accidents underscore the need to prioritise passengers’ safety over speed and scale. That a driverless freight train with 53 wagons travelled nearly 70 km from Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir before coming to a halt in Unchi Bassi can be attributed to glaring negligence on the part of the railway authorities. The Kavach, the automatic train protection system, must be expeditiously set up on all routes across the nation to prevent mishaps. The government must ensure passenger safety at all costs and take strict action against the officials at fault.

Amarjeet Mann, Una

Bring culprits to book

Refer to the editorial ‘Rathi’s murder’; the broad-daylight killing of state INLD chief Nafe Singh Rathi does not augur well for the polity ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. It has not only added a sinister dimension to the political environment in Haryana, but also sent ripples across the country. The incident is a reflection of the criminalisation of politics that is prevalent in India. The culprits should be brought to book as soon as possible. It is imperative that exemplary punishment be meted out to the perpetrators so that the faith of the common man in the judiciary and the law enforcement agencies is restored.

Jagvinder Singh Brar, Patiala

INDIA must stay united

Apropos of ‘Compulsions spur tie-ups among INDIA members’; after being on a sticky wicket for a while, the INDIA bloc now appears to be moving in the right direction, with seat-sharing deals sealed in different states to take on the mighty BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. The massive response from the public to Rahul Gandhi’s yatra and the RJD’s road shows in Bihar is worrying the ruling dispensation, which is keen to expand its footprint. The road ahead for the INDIA bloc is not an easy one. The saffron party may spring a surprise. The need of the hour for the members of the grouping is to remain united, no matter what.

Ravinder Singh, Jalandhar

Regional allies play key role

Refer to the article ‘Compulsions spur tie-ups among INDIA members’; as the General Election are around the corner, the two principal national parties are at it again. While the BJP is out to retain power, the Congress is desperate to dislodge the ruling dispensation. The regional parties that they form alliances with have a key role to play in deciding their electoral fortunes. The outcome of the polls is hard to predict at this stage as the grand old party is rushing to forge pacts with fellow constituents of the bloc and the saffron party is banking heavily on the Modi factor.

BM Singh, Amritsar

Stop misleading ads

With reference to the news report ‘SC slaps contempt notices on Patanjali for misleading ads’ ; it is good to see the Supreme Court come down heavily on the Centre for not taking any action against Patanjali Ayurved, which is co-owned by Ramdev, over ‘misleading’ advertisements. The apex court rightly observed that the company had not kept its word to the SC on November 21 last year to refrain from advertising or branding its products as ‘permanent relief’ for obesity, blood pressure, asthma, etc, in violation of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954. Now, the company must desist from making tall claims about its products or criticising other forms of medicine.

Balbir Singh Kakkar, Jalandhar

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