A stitch in time saves nine
Mumbai’s civic services are in a mess thanks to lack of civic sense which results in fatal accidents be it due to building collapses or trees getting uprooted mostly during monsoon seasons. A stitch in time saves nine and precautions are always better than cure. Trees needs maintenance as well and needs to be trimmed regularly to prevent mishaps of getting uprooted and dangerous ones need to be axed. Depleted buildings in very poor conditions need to be vacated urgently and government should prioritise their redevelopment with alternative arrangements.
Disaster Management Services are missing in Mumbai which needs to be revived. Safety of citizens should be the prime objective of the government and agencies or departments to look after people’s grievances should be made accountable for their work. Privatization of such department may cost government some extra sum but would bring in efficiency and accountability. Citizens cooperation too is a must and people too need to take precautionary measures such as proper repairs of their homes as well as surroundings that would help minimise mishaps. Mumbai has the wealthiest civic body and its revenues should be spent optimally so that the city is free from mishaps!
S.N. Kabra
Amend tie breaker game rules
The recently concluded World Cup Cricket tournament’s final tie breaker game has thrown up few confusing questions. Though England were declared as the winners owing to the outcome of superior number of boundaries scored at the time of a tied super over, there seems to be some discontent regarding the basis of declaration of winners for the title in a tied game.
The overthrow controversy of 6 runs during super over and ICC‘s rule of 19.3 regarding overthrows needs to be rectified through a formal announcement by ICC, of late. The teams, critics and cricket fraternity are still unconvinced the way the winners were declared in the first ever world cup tie breaker post the super over match. As also the argument of joint winner declaration in case of a tie though valid will steer away the real excitement of seeing a single claimant to the world cup title.
It is high time now that the ICC sets aside clear instructions to declare a winner on the basis of performance metrics as made available than going by archaic rule of superior boundaries or on the basis of a superior over, especially in crucial matches during finals. It is now important for the ICC to amend necessary rules to declare the tie match results in favour of only a high net run rate scoring teams amongst other frameworks and clear the air of confusion to cricket fans. The archaic Duckworth Lewis method of calculating runs during a weather affected match too needs an immediate overhaul by the experts aided by ICC.
Varun Dambal
CBI enquiry needed in Sakshi Mishra episode
Indian electronic media has once again shamefully put unpleasant episode of some Sakshi Mishra of Bareilly filing complaint against her MLA father from ruling BJP alleging threat to lives of herself and her husband because of inter-caste marriage. However, evidences from neighbours against her husband, his love for playing with pistols, his break-up of earlier engagement and visibly being over-aged as compared to Sakshi Mishra lead about serious doubts of conspiracy to blackmail MLA father. Even the priest said to have performed the marriage has now termed marriage-certificate to be fake.
It is doubted that Sakshi Mishra is continuously crying on TV channels for alleged threat from her father or being forced to speak against her father by some ones. This matter needs a thorough CBI investigation to find the real truth. During the CBI enquiry, Sakshi Mishra should be kept with honour in some comfortable place under police-vigilance for which payment can be equally shared by families of two sides both of which fortunately happen to be affording. Till CBI enquiry is over, even court-marriage between these two lawfully adults may not be allowed.
Young girls are now-a-days easily lured by boys for marriage to repent after marriage. Parents of girls in general can never be as cruel as being alleged by Sakshi Mishra with every doubt of levelling allegation under some pressure which the young girl is not able to elaborate. Indian society is moving far away of healthy ancient traditions, with love-marriages replacing traditional arranged marriages by parents who take matured decisions unlike immature decisions taken by young girls though lawfully being adult. Law should be amended whereby adult-age may be restored to 21 years that too with a condition that consent of parents of girl for marriage may be compulsory till she attains a matured age of 25 years.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
