Tax waiver for cyclone-hit
In the wake of the damage on account of Hudhud, the Andhra Pradesh CM may kindly consider waiving both property and income tax for all the citizens/owners of the flats/houses in Visakhapatnam for at least three years, with immediate effect, to compensate the huge losses and the psychological shock impact suffered by Vizag residents.
T M Uday Shankar
Past lessons learnt?
The way Hudhud was handled is an example of past lessons learnt from dealing with natural calamities. The tackling of Phailin and Hudhud was possible because the authorities anticipated the worst and put measures in place. It is heartening that they took a cue from the 1999 Odisha super cyclone, the Uttarakhand tragedy and the recent J&K disaster. Having able men at the helm can make a difference as proved by AP’s Chandrababu Naidu and Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik, who co-ordinated well with the centre. Naveen Patnaik’s ‘zero casualty’ vow seems to have helped Odisha, as no casualties were reported from the state. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) got it spot on, and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) acted swiftly. The Navy and the coast guard’s role cannot be emphasised more. Evacuation of lakhs of people was possible due to their concerted effort. That being said, the badly-ravaged Visakhapatnam needs to be put back on the track as soon as possible with restoration of power, communication and road connectivity being priority areas.
Ganapathi Bhat
Testing time for BJP
It looks like now, it might well be a ‘win win’ in both states for the BJP, all alone. This should give it a major fillip, since it hasn’t been a frontrunner in either state, with Maharashtra being the country’s financial hub. What if the win’s a bit shaky? For the party’s state-level leaders, waiting over a decade for power it will be a capital opportunity. Having set very high expectations, any unpleasant experience is something that will directly impact brand Modi, which could be disastrous. And the outcome of the two state polls might shed some light on these posers. In that sense, these are more than just state polls.
Subrahmanian S H
Thievery trumps cleanliness
With reference to the letter on ‘Cleanliness, at all times’ by S N Kabra (October 13), I would like to point out that every time new dustbins are installed, they are stolen overnight. New reflectors installed on flyovers are stolen.
As a teacher, I urge my class not to throw rubbish around and also how the three R’s must rule our lives. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Lastly, as a movie- and cricket-crazy nation we need celebrity role models to help us become the model nation we aspire to be.
R S Mani
Tharoor became inconvenient
The reason advanced by the Congress Disciplinary Committee leading to Shashi Tharoor’s expulsion as the party’s spokesman forthwith, was mired in controversy inasmuch as that he was not given a fair chance to defend himself before the so-called disciplinary committee. In all probability, he is likely to be subjected to an SIT probe shortly. In such a scenario, his continuation as the spokesman would have become untenable and inflicted further imponderable damage to the Congress Party, which is already sinking in a cesspool of its own making.
L R Moorthy
Not quite prepared
This refers to the report, ‘Cycle effect: Vizag resembles a war zone’ (October 14). The photograph of people preparing their food in the open after their houses were destroyed, says it all. We have no effective disaster management preparedness. People are left to fend for themselves in the aftermath. Fixing badly-damaged infrastructure will take months and what is needed urgently is to restore power supply and providing drinking water on a war footing. The AP Government should compensate people whose houses have been damaged.
Deendayal M Lulla
MVK’s words of wisdom
In your obituary of M V Kamath (October 10), you have reproduced a few tips he gave to Nitin Gokhale of NDTV, such as “Don’t ever think that your work is going to bring in a revolution or that you are going to change the world…don’t take yourself too seriously.” “Moderation is the key to successful journalism. People will trust you….” I have taken a clipping of the piece, highlighted the above portions and mailed to a gentleman called Goswami, who, I thought, could immensely benefit from these words of wisdom.
C A L Mulangunnathukavu
Party ads are telling
Sometimes advertisements reveal more than they hide. The BJP, Shiv Sena and Congress parties’ advertisements (October 14) are cases in point. So sure is the BJP of its appeal that the bold fonts ask people in Maharashtra to cast their votes without mentioning the party’s name. The bottom line asks for votes in the name of Narendra Modi and not the BJP, as if the party once Modi considered as his mother, has now become his appendage.
The Shiv Sena’s ad is too bland to impress. Not even Balasaheb Thackeray’s picture is there, a matter of conjecture. Does the reference to vision vs. division without a reference to what its vision is show its assuredness or loss of steam?
In the Congress ad, the prominent faces of dynasty have yielded space to the Congress-NCP’s achievements—a realisation that now it also regards development as more crucial than dependence on the ruling family. The final decision rests with the electorate.
Y G Chouksey
