Spreading awareness
Spreading awareness about plastic ban through college and school students is an appropriate way of giving lessons on the plastic ban. But had this done much earlier and introducing a suitable substitute to plastic bags would have done great service to people and shopkeepers. Now there is a chaos and the market feels the pinch much. Cloth shops in the city pack the shirt and pant in newspaper sheets before handing over to the buyers. This is a very strange situation. Lack of planning in place, put the business in jeopardy and add to the chaos among the housewives. After all, people struggle in the market, thinking in terms of how to solve the plastic ban problem. We need not stay behind in our efforts. It is a sensible argument — if we cannot reuse it, refuses it! At last some awareness has come and has made the day more meaningful — thanks to the efforts of the students of city colleges.
Nikhil Subramaniam
Why is heavy cash-payment allowed?
It refers to newspaper-advertisements on June 15, 2018 by Income Tax Department wherein it is informed that accepting cash of Rs 2,00,000 or more from a single person in a day or for one or more transactions relating to one event or occasion is illegal. It is beyond understanding why such heavy amount up to Rs 2,00,000 is allowed. This need to be reduced to one-tenth of existing limit i.e. Rs 20,000 like is in case of some property-deal. Such heavy relaxing amount of Rs 2,00,000 leads to involvement of black money in celebrations like marriages, further causing revenue-loss in terms of unpaid GST.
Also, donation in cash to a registered trust or political party should be only for the sole purpose of getting a membership. Any other contribution should be only through banking or digital mode to avoid issuing of multiple cash-receipts for single big donation in cash, like was earlier noticed when such limit was Rs 20,000 when a national political party declared that it never received cash-donation exceeding Rs 20,000.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
Limit number of episodes in a TV serial
It is observed that many TV serials continue for years after years with an even change in generations of the characters shown in such TV serials. It makes viewers TV-addicted with the unimaginable number of total man-hours viewing TV-serials only adversely affecting studies of students and proper attention to children by mothers who are victims of such addiction. Already social media has ruined life-style and working-efficiency of all including office-goers.
Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting should regulate a maximum number of episodes in a normal TV serial to say 52 (one year). However, such a restriction may not be there on epic-serials. Even TV serials with the single story in each episode can also be exempted.
Madhu Agrawal
Uber unrest
Both Uber and Ola call taxis face controversies and crime in recent times and that put the private operator in jeopardy. In the recent catfight in Uber can the hair of the inmate was yanked out and her face scratched after a tiff over the last drop in a share taxi. The Uber pool cab was having another lady inmate as a passenger. Shouting resulted after an attack and it appeared as melodrama on the wheels. Fortunately, both were women occupants or rape and molestation charges would have been added to the case. The fight appeared rather silly but in the heat of the moment everything happened and presented a bad picture. This has given a bad name for the private operator, whose name is already tarnished with various cases of rape, molestation and robbery. It is time to control temper.
Jayanthi Anandambal
Maximum city faces monsoon mayhem
Building collapse in Mumbai during monsoon season is very common and this time building wall collapsed and the parked cars near that area became scrap under tonnes of rubble. The scare reached the flat owners as they all decided to shift from their accommodation to avoid risk. Even though the case is filed against the builders for illegal excavation conducted by them caused the collapse. BMC allowed a jumbo basement area beyond permissible limit and that causes the landslide. Wadala witnessed a gruesome building wall collapse that saw 12 cars turn into scrap under tonnes of rubble before action could be taken. Maximum city cracks up in the aftermath of monsoon rains. Monsoon mayhem continues to haunt the city.
Calicut Krishnan
Why yes to plastic and no to paper
It is a wrong notion developed in common man that plastic is hazardous and we should not use plastic. Plastic had made us convenient with any food item, vegetables, water, medicine, garments, stationary, jewellery, toothpaste, shampoo, washing powder, food grains, vegetable oil, milk, fruits and much more available anytime anywhere. It has made our life easy. It has given employment and livelihood to lackhs of people which always a concern for any government.
It has replaced paper and thus saved lot of trees to be cut which is very much essential to stop global warming.
Plastic waste of course is a concern only when it is not collected and reused. All Plastic is recycled and reused. It is our responsibility to throw this plastic or any wastage in dustbin so can be sent for recycling. We need to change our habits and not ban plastic. We can also generate electricity from any plastic waste with hardly 1 per cent residue. Whereas thousand of trees and lackhs of liters of water are used to manufacture paper. This contaminated water is disposed in river or sea and thus polluting environment.
Plastic is made out of by-product left after processing of crude oil which is extracted from sea. So why No to Plastic? Iron ore used for making metal is depleting our land. Paper is taking away our trees and pushing us towards global warming.
So when we say ban plastics, are we talking so to save environment? Whom should we blame? A civilian who throws thrashes not in Dustin or the Municipal Corporation who has not developed efficient system to collect waste and pass their inability and failure to the plastic users?
Shouldn’t these politicians stop playing with common man life and taking political mileage?
Mobile has made us easy to converse with a person at a distance but at the same it is the taking away our mental peace. It has made distance in a relationship. It is also generating e-waste which is not recyclable. Should we ban use and sale of mobile? Car, bikes, trucks emits a lot of Co2 so should we ban car and stop manufacturing all vehicles? Air-condition emits a lot of hot air so should we ban air-condition? A Lot of hazardous chemicals are used for agriculture which causes cancer and death of farmers. Can’t we ban them and go for organic immediately? I can give you many such examples which we should be banned immediately.
Should we ban plastic? Do we want to go to the 18th century? Should we not correct our habits rather than banning all products and gadgets? Can’t we make rational use of all resources so we make our next generation life better?
Now can you think of replacing plastic with paper? Think and arrive at a conclusion.
Anandambal Subbu
