Black Diwali in the offing
Several of my friends have lost their jobs. Many of my friends hard earned money is blocked in PMC and other cooperative banks that have gone bust. Inflation is at its peak as even tomatoes and onions are being sold for the price of apples. Dry fruits are available at over Rs.1000 a kg and sweets have only gone dearer over the years. Pollution levels have risen at all time high and diseases are on the rise on account of it. Most sectors are in the doldrums and economy is sinking each day.
‘Black Diwali‘ is in the offing and the mood is sombre all around. Government should wake up from its slumber and take tough measures that are beneficial for the country. Fraudsters who have looted bank money should be targeted so that banks get their loaned money back which in turn can be returned to depositors. Investment in infrastructure and other sectors would create jobs for the people. Health welfare scheme would benefit the poor. Hope the government is listening and are drawing a plan that would end our troubles in the days to come.
S.N. Kabra
BJP and opposition should learn lessons from by poll results
The NDA led by the BJP and the opposition have lessons to learn from the by poll results. A little bit of overconfidence and assertiveness plus matters regarding the handling and meddling of economics has clearly jolted the strong NDA juggernaut. The results were not like what the NDA expected. They have to urgently stitch up the tears as the results obviously shows that the voters are keenly observing the movements of the government. The ruling party will have to fulfill the hopes and promises given by them to the people at a war footing. They ought to prove that the strong leadership at the helm is ready to serve the people. As for the opposition a strong helmsman is the need of the hour. The by poll result, especially in Haryana, shows that people are ready to support if they find the opposition is united and ready to voice for the people. The ” cliff hanger” in Haryana and the “neck to neck” competition in Maharashtra shows this. Voters have started to show their likes and dislikes and that too diligently while choosing their candidate.
M Pradyu
BCCI has more choice of selecting wicketkeepers
The BCCI Chairman of Selectors has recently opined regarding ‘moving on’ with respect to selection of MS Dhoni into the squad after the successful stint in the recently concluded World Cup tournament. The statement comes at a time when Indian cricket team is now well equipped with three wicket-keeping talents namely Wriddhiman Saha, Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson. The squad as announced for the upcoming India Bangladesh series consists of wicketkeepers selectively for Tests, ODIS and T20s only revealing abundant talent choice, indicating a full platter in BCCI’s hands.
The decision to leave the matter of retirement to MS Dhoni by BCCI is a mature and humble move with the respect to the player’s stature. Such a practice has been followed by the selectors since many years while expecting a clear formal intent from the senior players either to continue or retire early. However as there is a lot of opportunities arising across all the levels of Indian cricket including Zonal Cricket and IPL, BCCI now has more choices while selecting a wicket keeper to the squad under the current situations.
The announcement of Indian squad for the upcoming Indo-Bangla series, has enabled a wide spectrum of opportunities in different formats for all the three wicket keepers selected by BCCI. Thus BCCI has now a platter full of opportunities regarding the choice of wicket keeping and number 4/5 position in the Indian team.
Varun Dambal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
