letterstoeditor

THREAT TO ENVIRONMENT Government agencies spend a lot to organise awareness programmes on special days like World Environment Day, but shirk their duty when it comes to implementing eco-friendly policies. If they are serious, why not enforce the ban on polythene bags, create a foolproof infrastructure for solid waste management and streamline environment science training at college level. Even we should pledge not to waste or pollute our natural resources. Dr Jai Prakash Gupta, Ambala Cantt II It’s sad how Patiala, a city once known for its gardens, has lost its green cover to urbanisation in the past few years. HT has highlighted how the habitat of hundreds of peacocks between Patiala Model Town and Nabha road has been the latest victim. JS Bhatti, Patiala III The construction of the KhararLudhiana highway has led to the axing of hundreds of trees along the road. The government should plant double the number of trees that were axed to compensate for the harm to environment. Ashum Khan, Baddi HAIL TEAM INDIA The Men in Blue have won accolades not only back home but across the world for their emphatic win over arch-rivals Pakistan in the Champions Trophy tie. While showering welldeserved praises on the Indian team, it’s important the young Pakistan team is not bombarded with unwarranted criticism. The game will just lose its sheen if any team loses its morale and matches turn one-sided.

Raj Kumar, Amritsar CRICKET OVERDOSE With news channels going overboard with cricket coverage, other sports are being neglected. Cricket, played seriously hardly in a dozen countries, involves mind-boggling amount of money, while other sports are deprived of government or corporate backing.

HL Sharma, Amritsar LONDON TERROR ATTACK Europe is on the target of Islamic terror units. First, Paris, then Manchester, and now London, is this a sheer failure of the European authorities? They need to be proactive to deal with these attacks, and take all intelligence reports seriously. Aakash Arora FUTILE ACTION Various news channels are hailing NIA raids on Kashmiri separatists, while claiming the action was triggered by their reportage. The reality is that these separatist leaders enjoy all perks showered by the Indian government while showing loyalty to their masters across the border, on whose bidding they keep fomenting unrest in the Valley. There is no point going gaga over these raids till some concrete action is taken against such antinationals. Mona S Khokhar RESPECT MARTYRS Just like Karan Thapar has a ‘problem with calling soldiers killed in action martyrs’(HT, June 3), I have a problem with his definition of martyr. His views on the issue are an insult to our brave security personnel, who sacrifice their lives safeguarding our borders. Such armchair thinkers should respect those taking on our enemies on the ground. DP Gautam VIOLENCE ON RISE Shashi Shekhar has raised a very serious issue in his article ‘A disturbing violence is on the rise’ (HT, June 5). There is marked increase in senseless violence in society. Incidents of murder, rape and road rage have increased manifold, pointing to diminishing fear of law. Although social disparities remain a major cause, the failure to impart time-tested ‘sanskars’ (ethics) in children is also responsible for this social deterioration. AK Sharma, Chandigarh NDTV RAIDS NDTV group’s assertion that the CBI raids and registration of case against founder husbandwife duo Prannoy and Radhika Roy were the result of ‘old endless false accusations’ is farfetched. Although it is an open secret that the ruling dispensation and NDTV group don’t enjoy cordial relations, the Central Bureau of Investigation has asserted the action was taken in pursuance of the apex court’s directions. NDTV, if it is indeed honest in its dealings, ought to have full faith in the country’s judicial system. Hemant Kumar, Ambala City DIRTY POLITICS Mixing of politics with religion has tarnished the secular fabric of India. Politicians can be regularly seen propagating communalism or appeasement of certain sections. Politics has separated us into so-called ‘bhakts’ and ‘libtards’, instead of uniting us as Indians. Ruchika Rana, SAS Nagar SHUN CASTEISM It is sad that a Sangrur man belonging to the Jat Sikh community committed suicide on learning that the mother of his newlywed bride was a Dalit. It’s a known fact that finding a bride within the community for a Jat Sikh having less than an acre of land is almost impossible. His father-in-law, a Jat, too must have married a Dalit woman for same reason. Devinder Singh FALSE PROMISES It’s been three years, but several promises made by the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections are yet to be fulfilled. Narendra Modi had promised to create jobs, but we are witnessing large-scale lay-offs by big firms. M Lal Garg, Chandigarh