SPECIAL COVERAGE
CHANDIGARH

LUDHIANA

DELHI


THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE
TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
L E T T E R S    T O    T H E    E D I T O R

Time to check noise pollution

We are noise-happy people (Saturday Extra, Oct 17) makes for good reading. It is very true that we in India are very fond of making much noise.

We find pleasure in disturbing others by honking horns, blowing whistles, holding jagratas and taking out noisy processions.

We, a team of 20 senior citizens of Mohali, visited Bangkok, Pataya, and other places in Thailand, on a goodwill tour. We were pleasantly surprised to know that nobody, including the drivers of the heavy vehicles, blow horns. Nobody jumps the queue. There is seldom a quarrel or an accident.

The Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi, Tajender Khanna, was justified when he said that we found pleasure in violating the traffic rules, jumping red lights etc.

It is high time that the police and transport departments used strict measures to check the noise pollution by horns.

S. Chaudhary, Secy, Mohali Senior,
Citizens’ Assn, Mohali




Mother figure

Khushwant Singh in his article Road to happiness – humility (Sept 12)” has given a sincere profile of the Nobel Laureate, late Mother Teresa, a selfless and devout person of the highest order, dedicated to the welfare of the downtrodden and destitute.

I fully agree with his views as I myself had the good fortune to meet and talk to her at Kishangarh (Bihar) sometime in 1981, when she inaugurated a hospital. Overwhelmed by her speech and humble approach, I personally went to her and sought her blessings, and she held me in her lap and blessed me with the words “My son, God bless you.” I have her photograph duly autographed, which stall orders by drawing room. God bless her.

Cmdt. R.S. Gurung (retd), Kandrori (Kangra)

Poetry in stone

Poetry in Stone by S. Raghunath (Sat-Extra, Nov 21) was an informative, exciting and exquisite piece. It also carried some element of humour.

The writer took great pains to collect so many epitaphs. I too want to share facts about some of the well-known epitaphs of eminent personalities.

The word ‘Epitaph’ is derived from the Greek word which means ‘at over tomb’. Literally, it means ‘on the grave stone’.

Sir Isaac Newton’s tomb bears then inscription:

“Nature and Nature’s laws lay hid in night,

God said,” Let Newton be!” and all was light.

These famous lines were composed by Alexander Pope. There can be no substitute to this one to describe Newton’s greatness.

William Shakespeare’s epitaph reads thus:

“Good friend for Jesus’ sake, forbear,

To dig the dust enclosed here;

Blest be the man that spares these stones,

And curst he be that moves my bones.”

Sir Winston Churchill’s epitaph rouses some humour which says

“I am ready to meet my Maker

Whether my Maker is prepared to meet me is another matter.”

Bilal Ahmad Shamim, Gurdaspur







How best to decongest cities

MOHAN DHARIA’s article, Arresting urban decay (Perspective, Nov 22) is timely. All our cities, big or small, are in a state of perpetual decay because of their haphazard growth and lack of basic facilities — sewerage, drainage, water supply, sanitation and traffic management.

Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh vouched this fact when he said, “If there are international awards for filth, Indian cities will bag the top prizes.”

To provide these five basic facilities, the municipal administration requires massive investment which it does not have. The state governments milk the cities through tax collection but do not spend even 10 per cent of the accruals on infrastructure development. The governments also encourage the growth of unapproved colonies by allowing sale deeds of lands simultaneously.

Mr Dharia has rightly emphasised that the limiting size for a city for its convenient development should be to accommodate a population of one million only. Presently there are around 50 cities with population crossing the one-million mark. With the present trend of rural migration into urban areas, the number may cross the 300-mark by 2031.

If the government is serious to save the cities from further decay, it must take the following measures with a sense of urgency. Prevent further growth of existing cities by strict enforcement of regulatory laws. Set up new well planned cities to act as sub-capitals of the bigger states. Declare bigger villages (population more than 7,000) as towns and ensure their systematic growth. Set up satellite towns to the state capital cities and transfer all the government offices/ institutions to decongest the mega cities. Improve education and sanitation facilities in villages to reduce migration to the urban areas. And arrange adequate funds to the municipal governments to provide the five aforesaid basic facilities in the existing towns.

Clearly, there is no shortcut to save cities from urban decay.

RAM NIWAS MALIK,
Engineer-in-Chief (retd) , Gurgaon

 





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