1) Bridge collapse – not mere accident
Sudden daylight collapse of a 50-year-old Majherhat bridge in Kolkata on September 04, 2018, is a third such incident in the past six years, gives a clear-cut case of corruption and negligence in the public projects. Bridges built during the British regime in India including nearby Howrah bridge are much more reliable and strong even after more than a century of their completion. Any enquiry into corruption in building the collapsed bridge may now lead to nowhere because those found guilty might have been dead by now. However, a fast-track inquiry by a Special Investigation Team under the supervision of Kolkata High Court with wide-ranging terms for enquiry including suggesting ways to check corruption and malpractices in the public projects perhaps tend to check such future accidents. Case of murder and not mere accident should be filed for the collapse, and action needs to be taken against those found guilty and still alive. Property left behind by the guilty ones who are now not alive should be confiscated.
Political rulers and their parties at the time of construction of Majherhat bridge in Kolkata are equally responsible for the under the quality bridge made in their regime.
– Madhu Agrawal
2) Crashing Economy
It’s a matter of great concern that Indian Rupee crashed to a historic low of Rs 71.21 by losing 21 paise against the US dollar because of nagging concerns over high crude oil prices in the international market and trade war tensions continued to hurt forex market sentiment. In tandem, price of petrol touched the all-time high of Rs 86.56 and diesel cost Rs 75.54 a litre in Mumbai, which is a big threat to widen current account deficit, derail economic recovery and to the strong GDP number that came on the weekend. When the Modi government is beating his own triumpph that economy is upbeat, why they are failing to control Rupee fall, and why they don’t take measure to provide some relief to the people?
– Qeyamuddin
3) Mithi most polluted in Maharashtra
With every invitation to make Mumbai, a smart city, the Metro is eroding its resilience to perfectly normal monsoon weather events. The infrastructure of big commerce has replaced the infrastructure to withstand natural shocks. Mithi River is most polluted in Maharashtra and it is a bad news for people staying in Santa Cruz and Kalina areas. The political rivalry disrupts meaningful development to the city. Mithi River poses the main problem to Mumbai Airport as well as on July 26, 2005, deluge. Even the Air India office quarters was submerged with the water with Mithi River overflowing. Mumbai people suffer forever with Mithi in the backdrop.
– Chitra Rugmini
4) Greatest performance, but low on the Medals tally!
India’s greatest show at the Asian Games at Jakarta where we won 15 Gold medals that equalled our earlier best of 15 at the 1951 games was truly laudable. But when other countries have galloped at a fast pace over the years and gone way ahead, we have been marching at a snail’s pace only to equal our 1951 mark after almost 67 years which though creditable but much needs to be done to keep pace with the best.
Fifteen Gold medals and a low spot in the Medals tally for a country that is one of the most populated nations in the world deserves to improve its sporting achievements at a greater pace. We are a Cricket-centric nation and we need to encourage other sports as well. There is no dearth of funds in our country but the encouragement is missing. Sporting culture needs a makeover and the Medals would come fast and thick in the years to come. Make sports compulsory in the educational institutions and the government should spend a large sum of money on sporting infrastructure which is the key to excellence in any sports. We have the talent to become a global leader in professional sports and hope we are one in the coming decades!
– S.N.Kabra
5) Mother Teresa was an ideal figure
September 5 of every year reminds us of a great lady, Mother Teresa who was just a nun, but she was the mother of all who needed tenderness, care, and love. Her entire life was fully devoted to help the poor, the sick, the needy, and the helpless. She rendered her services in India and this wasn’t an easy task in 1948 India. She had a very little support and, while trying to feed and help the poorest of the poor, she herself was constantly hungry and even had to beg for food. In this age of inhumanity and barbarity, we need Mother Teresa’s thoughts and ideology to reduce the tragedy of immorality and violence. She worked almost up until her death on September 5, 1997.
– M.F.U.Tandvi
6) Entertainment at a very high risk
As in the previous years, safety in Dahi Handi went for a toss and there were fatal accidents. An underage Govinda belmed practically every Dahi Handi during the Janmashtami celebrations and this time also it was not an exception. At a time when this year’s celebration of Dahi Handi troops has witnessed a downfall, the community-based organisations are leaving no stones unturned to celebrate the function in a grand way. Despite the security arrangement through the police force, there were stray cases of accidents. The groups and organisers flouted almost all the rules laid down by the courts and the Dahi Handi this year was equally risky. Ambulance services were not available for an emergency service. Every effort to play safe Dahi Handi received a rude shock when a 26-year-old died of fit during the celebrations. In all, it was entertainment at a very high risk.
– Nikhil Krishnan
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
