L E T T E R S    T O    T H E    E D I T O R

Ads a waste of money

It is a matter of concern that the hard-earned money of people collected as tax is wasted by the government on advertisements in newspapers showing faces of ministers. Central and state governments use half-page ads to launch even minor roads and administration blocks. The editorial “Spam the public cost” (October 8) aptly says that the cost-effectiveness of all expenditure needs to be assessed. There can be no justification for multiple departments giving ads on the birth anniversary of one personality or that the picture of a political personality should take up greater space or time in an ad than the message it conveys. It is hoped that good sense will prevail and unnecessary expenditure would be curtailed.

Subhash C Taneja, Gurgaon

Good donation

I appreciate Yadavindra Public School, Patiala, and its staff and students for contributing a huge amount of Rs 5,57,374 towards the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund as per the list published on October 10. “Boond boond se sagar bharta hai”. Other schools should emulate YPS and help solve the problems of the flood-hit Kashmiris.

Prof B M Rawlley, Zirakpur

Illegal mining

This has reference to news items “Haryana told to prosecute officials guilty of allowing illegal mining” (October 9) and “Sand mafia threatens forest officials” (October 11) that are in contradiction to each other. Rampant illegal mining in violation of the Supreme Court's ban is giving serious cause for concern. The Tribune has highlighted the problem from time to time. On the one hand, the apex court has once again taken fresh cognisance of the massive mining in the Aravalli hills region of Haryana and ordered the state government to hold accountable the erring officers who are either accused of evident complicity or otherwise fail to check this nefarious activity. On the other hand, it is a pity that a senior politician of the ruling alliance in Punjab has allegedly warned Ropar district Forest Department officials of dire consequences if they dared to stop mining in Chamkaur Sahib. Doesn’t lifting of sand from private property without permission from the Mining Department amount to crime? Isn’t it the responsibility of the government to ensure that the rules are enforced and the perpetrators brought to justice? Doesn’t lax attitude encourage open loot of sand everywhere? The Bhangi choe in Hoshiarpur is perhaps the worst casualty. Will the authorities take steps to stop this unlawful activity that is going on unabated under the nose of the district administration?

DS Kang, Bahadurpur (Hoshiarpur)

Swachh Bharat

The clean-up campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a Herculean task as most Indians are not concerned about cleanliness. About 650 million Indians do not have access to toilets. They defecate in the open. Our surroundings are generally littered with dung and garbage. People throw domestic refuse in streets and drains. Effluents produced by factories pollute land and air. To have Swachh Bharat, it is necessary to bring about social changes. Poverty should be wiped out. More than 30 crore people are living below the poverty line. People should be enlightened about the futility of superstitious beliefs and customs. Untouchability is the bane of society. It should be eradicated. Corruption has spread like an epidemic in all government departments. It should be eliminated. Parliament is the temple of our democracy. Its members should be honest and upright. According to an analysis, 186 MPs had in their election affidavits disclosed criminal cases against themselves. Do they grace the august House with their presence?

Bhagwan Singh, Qadian

Clean India initiative

The Clean India Initiative is a wonderful step taken by the PM. Indians are now shouldered with a great responsibility. Abroad, people are aware of cleanliness and, therefore, their countries looks beautiful. The habit of cleanliness will create discipline and also help janitors in their jobs.

Such campaigns will help the youth become leaders in their work and fields of education and, in turn, make a better contribution to their country.

There is also a need to stress on cleanliness from the health point of view by restricting the use of plastic bags. It takes 1,000 years for one plastic bag to decay in environment. The burning of plastic releases fumes that increase air pollution.

Kulwant Singh, Kuwait

Polythene menace

Last week, I went to my native place in Himachal Pradesh. While crossing Chohal after Hoshiarpur, to my dismay, I found that both sides of the road were littered with polybags, disposable glasses, chips and bread packets. Devotees visit holy places in HP through this route, but it seems they do not care much about the environment. People take small breaks during their travel to hills and eat and drink. Sometimes, devotees even organise langars along roadsides during the pilgrimage season, but they do not bother to clean up the area. The scenic beauty takes a hit with polythene bags strewn all over.

The situation was different as we crossed over to HP at the Gagret border. Though garbage was seen littered sporadically, there was less polythene content in it. And there was no sign polythene as we travelled deep into Hamirpur . Credit goes to the HP Government which banned the use of polythene a few years ago.

Polythene is the main culprit in choking drains and a lot of related problem. Only government regulations are not enough to control this menace. People should also dump polythene properly in dustbins.

ASHWANI KUMAR, Ludhiana

Billing woes

The PSPCL is having billing problems for a long time. Many consumers who had paid their bills before the due date are being asked to pay again. Their repeated requests to the authorities concerned have fallen on deaf ears. The problem has become more severe as the billing is now done on a monthly basis for consumers with loads above 10 KWs.

Rabinder Arneja, Jalandhar