C.V. Aravind
In the name of tourism, virgin forests in the hills are destroyed indiscriminately. (‘The hills are (barely) alive’; Apr. 14) Concrete buildings have come up on mountain slopes, causing intensive damage to nature. Udhagamandalam town has become a concrete jungle. Kodaikanal and Yercaud are no exception. Tourism development has come at the cost of destruction of nature, and needs to be regulated.
The cover story holds up a mirror to the bad maintenance of mountains in the country. From the prism of economics, governments have to allocate adequate resources for the upkeep of infrastructure in hill stations and, of course, tirelessly work to keep them clean, free from traic hassles and tourist-friendly. We can draw lessons from the U.P. government, which made monumental eorts to clean the Ganges.
Tourism carrying capacity may be viewed as an important consideration in the sustainability discussion. Of late, sustainability and its associated concepts have come to dominate planning on the management of tourism and its impacts. But carrying capacity analysis is still an important tool to know future impact in the tourism sector.
It is true that many otherwise first-rate writers become victims of establishment politics and fail to make it to the canon. (‘Discovering Maryse Condé’; Apr. 14) Only an innocent person would persuade themselves that writers in the First World get promoted exclusively on merit. Awards play a significant role in putting writers on academic syllabi. But they are not unbiased.
My vote is for those who promise and implement environment-friendly deeds. (‘Green humour’; Apr. 14) I appeal to all to follow me, and I appeal to the EC to disqualify those who fail to implement election promises.
Vacations in the 80s used to begin with a second-class rail journey. (‘Charm of the 80s vacation’; Apr. 14) This was followed by playing with cousins, eating delicacies prepared by your grandmother, accompanying your grandfather to the library, reading school textbooks for the next year, and going to bed at 9 p.m., after grandmother had served thayir sadham. Today’s children know nothing of this.
The article brought back memories of vacations of yore when distractions were less, vacation spots were almost pollution-free, and a holiday, even with family in tow, did not leave a gaping hole in your purse. Much water has flowed under the bridge since then and in the hustle and bustle of today’s world, vacations are clipped short and devoid of the erstwhile charm.