Casual approach

Not only in Punjab, all over India, more than one lakh people are murdered every year, due to lawlessness, bad condition of roads and unnecessary vehicle boom created for the profit of the corporate world (GS Aujla’s article ‘Punjab’s Lawless Road’, July 9). I strongly support the implementation of social security, particularly, laws and rules relating to the safety of human life, like traffic rules.

The tragedy in India is that law makers are themselves law breakers and worst violation of rules and laws come from people in power.

Unless traffic rules are followed strictly as in Britain where the Prime Minister needs to visit the police station himself and does not seek any favour for his progeny’s violation of rules, till then situation is unlikely to change and the number of innocent citizens dying on roads will keep on rising.

Prof CHAMAN LAL, New Delhi

II

Using a cellphone while driving is very risky. These days people take it very casually but driving with a mobile on the ear has caused accidents many times. In UT Chandigarh, every person becomes conscious of traffic rules. As soon as he exits from Chandigarh, off goes the seat belt. Traffic rules must be followed strictly in every part of the country so that every person becomes habitual to traffic rules which will also reduce the increasing number of accidents.

KAMALJIT MALWA, Mansa

Selling education

It is a matter of concern and shame that engineering seats in colleges have become a saleable commodity and the lecturers have turned salesmen in Punjab. It is the result of influx of engineering colleges in the region and the poor performance of the Punjab Technical University which has been excessively generous in approving new technical institutions.

Too many colleges under the control of PTU are bound to derail the standard of engineering institutions. I denounce bargaining in the temples of learning where teachers are asked to “bring five new students and get Rs 25,000 as prize money failing which you can lose your job”.

It is high time that both the central and state governments screen the academic record and performance of these institutions and wound up the inefficient and non-performing institutions.

SUDARSHAN DHINGRA, Abohar

II

The news report “PTU colleges fail to fill engineering seats” came as a rude shock, but true. It seems that education is being treated as an ordinary consumer good which a producer is dying to sell in the market using legitimate or illegitimate means. It is really sad that education has become a business and educational institutions have become money minting machines. The future of the children is completely being ignored. There is a sharp fall in the placements since the last few years posing a great threat to the coming generations. The practice of donations and high fees structure should be checked as soon as possible.

NAVNEET KAUR BAGGA, Mohali

Foodgrain storage

One simple but effective suggestion regarding foodgrain storage space is the use of space under long road bridges. For example, Zirakpur bridge near Chandigarh has more than 150 empty spans which are 30 feet tall, 50 feet long and about 30 feet wide. The space if covered properly can be used to store more than 30,000 quintals of wheat. Space under the bridges can be leased to the contractors who will manage the storage for the government.

BALDEV SINGH, via e-mail