M A I L B A G

Colleges must provide jobs to engineers

THE editorial “Of unemployed engineers” (Nov 9) rightly analyses the present-day plight of countless engineers churned out by the mushrooming engineering colleges. As the supply has far exceeded the demand, the law of economics will rule the market leaving the bad ‘products’ unsold (read as unemployed). Unless the quality of technical education is ensured, the new crop of engineers is bound to remain unemployed.

Quality and quantity are inversely proportional to each other. The more the quantity, the less the quality and vice versa. Some new engineering colleges do not have their own buildings and operate from temporary premises. There is need to set up a review committee comprising independent engineers to study the infrastructure and performance of the existing engineering colleges and recommend their closure and/or improvement in various areas.

Another immediate requirement is to declare a probation of two years for all the new colleges. Opening up of a dynamic and placement cell in every college should be made mandatory. The onus of providing employment for the engineers produced should be on the colleges. A college not being able to arrange employment for its engineers should be de-recognised.

A case study of some business schools like IMT, Ghaziabad, by me reveals that getting good employment for the ‘products’ is not difficult if the placement cells are really effective.

Er JAGVIR GOYAL, Chandigarh

Traffic chaos

There is no traffic safety in Jagadhri because of the nuisance caused by heavy traffic and reckless driving on the main Ambala-Jagadhri road at Chotti Line, Matka Chowk, Jagadhri. As many as six educational institutions are situated on and near the crossing. In the morning, there is heavy rush of college and school students who are in a hurry to reach their institutes. At the same time, heavy vehicles like trucks and trolleys, filled with construction material are also in a hurry to reach their destinations.

Very often, this heavy rush creates a lot of unpleasant situations. On November 3, a great tragedy had befallen the students of Hindu Public School and Hindu Girls Senior Secondary School, Jagadhri. Three children from these schools met with a tragic accident.

Some suitable steps for the safety of students must be taken immediately to avoid recurrence of such accidents in future. Heavy vehicles should not be allowed to move between 7 am and 10 am and between 1 pm to 4 pm. A police post should be set up exactly at Matka Chowk Crossing to control traffic and ensure free movement of the public.

Dr URMILA SHARMA, Principal, Hindu Girls College, Jagadhri

Retain death penalty

Apropos of the article, “Hanging is out of date” (Oct 15), Subash C. Jain has called for the abolition of death penality. He has reproduced the views of Justice P.N. Bhagwati that judiciary cannot award a punishment which is unalterable. However, if death penalty is abolished, there will be a flood of heinous crimes in the country.

The fear of hanging till death discourages some people from committing murder. If eminent people want the abolition of death penalty, they should keep in mind three types of murder: where teenage girls are raped and murdered; where house owner (he or she) is strangulated or killed by the servant for the sake of money; and where murders are committed for ransom. In all these cases, the accused has no enmity or dispute of any kind with the victims. These cases may be considered as rarest of the rare.

D.R. KAGRA, Hansi (Hissar)

Need for CMBs

Reference “CMBs not enough: N-weapons remain for mistrust” by M.B. Naqvi (Nov 3). The writer is right in saying: “Only political will is required. Means can always be found, and in any case, the goal is to be achieved progressively. Over years, not in one go.”

Pakistani Generals may be complacent about Indian nukes; but every Indian sleeps without fear despite Pakistani nukes, in the absence of mutual nuclear bombing, despite extreme provocation continuously for half a century.

Nuclear capability of India and Pakistan has brought stability to both, against all-out war, except proxy war. Clearly, confidence-building measures, an antidote to accidental nuclear flare, are the need of the hour.

PRAN SALHOTRA, Gurdaspur 

Banish poverty THE United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) expressed concern that India, despite considerable food surpluses, was still home to nearly 25 per cent of the world’s hungry population. It observed that after a decline of 20 million hungry people during 1990-97, there has been an increase of their number during 1998-2001. This number includes only those who are too poor to provide succour for themselves and their families. Even after 57 years of Independence, we have 25 per cent of the world’s hungry people in our country. Over 60 per cent of the population do not have access to potable water in our country. We might have been able to build six-star hotels, IT industries, big dams, medical and engineering colleges, but whatever development we have made comes to a big zero when we are unable to banish poverty. I appeal to all members of Parliament to sit together and think honestly what we have achieved. Cutting across partly lines, they must resolve to combat poverty. Otherwise, posterity will not forgive them. Dr NARESH RAJ, Patiala