Toll tax

On the pattern of concessions given to senior citizens by the Railways, banks and the Income-Tax Department, the National Highways Authority of India, too, should grant them 50 per cent concession in toll tax while undertaking journey in the vehicles registered in their names.

S. S. UTREJA, Ludhiana

Indo-Pak ties

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has rightly stressed the need for a continuous dialogue between India and Pakistan for peace and development in the subcontinent (Editorial, “PM pitches for dialogue”, March 7). Today India has become one of the world’s biggest markets and is poised to become a major economic and knowledge power around the globe.

This is reason enough for the Prime Minister to emphasise on good bilateral relations between the two countries. His suggestion that “we need to resolve the issues between two nations” will help boost economic growth of both countries.

HARPREET SANDHU, Ludhiana

Break the nexus

I read the news-item, “Disease stalks villages around cement plants” (March 7). The reported hazardous air pollution having dangerous pollutants much above the permissible limits of the Indian standards in Himachal Pradesh is entirely due to the state government’s nexus with the pollutant emitting cement plants. This nexus is posing a big threat to the health of the citizens, causing respiratory and cardiovascular problems, lung disease, asthma attacks and other acute health problems. The cement plants and the stone crushers hardly use air pollution mitigation equipment to save power. They prefer to emit poisonous contents into the air at the cost of the local residents’ health. The political clout and self-interest of business houses can never be a license to do anything that would endanger the health of the residents.Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh should take cognisance of the health hazard created by the cement factories in Himachal Pradesh and save the people from its devastating impact.

R.M.RAMAUL, Paonta Sahib

Not on a platter

The two articles by Navjot Singh Sidhu (March 8) contain more of rhetoric than rationality. He is harping on only one tune i.e. replacing Piyush Chawla with Ashwin as if this replacement will solve all the problems and the Indian team will win the World Cup on a platter. Our team is beset with many serious problems. First, Munaf Patel is not as lethal a bowler as Zaheer is. Secondly, all the big teams have three fast bowlers while Indian team contains only two. Thirdly, unlike other Captains, M.S. Dhoni never gives any advice or directions to his bowlers at the crucial moments to bowl particular deliveries. For example, he should have asked Munaf to bowl Yorkers in the last two overs against England after placing six fielders on the leg-side.

Fourthly, the fielding is very sloppy. Fifthly, Indian batting is very vulnerable to fast and rising deliveries on the middle stump. Even Tendulkar could not negotiate such deliveries against Steyn and Morkel. The trend this time is to bowl more maidens in the first 15 overs than purchasing wickets. Indian bowlers have not adopted this style. Being a wicket-keeper, Dhoni has his limitations to become a thinking Captain like Kapil Dev. Also he badly lacks the inspiring body language of Kapil Dev.

Thus, Dhoni is not a good General as Sidhu thinks him to be. Fortunately for India all the top eight teams have serious batting problems this time and the World Cup is open to all of them.