Sore thumb rules

Sir — Will someone stop Amitabh Bachchan and his mindless son from making the world think that Indians have no sense of style? It doesn’t make one feel proud to be an Indian to see the two sticking out like a sore thumb (the son is an extension of the father and hence together they make only a single sore thumb) at the Roland Garros. And to think that they are thrust upon us as the best ambassadors India ever had! To make matters worse, they now have in the family Aishwarya Rai, who makes Indians look for a place to hide every year during the Cannes film festival.

Yours faithfully,
Shubhra Sen, Calcutta

Deep problems

Sir — “Cave-in alert for Barakar residence” (June 7) is a kind of news that keeps getting repeated. In the notice issued by Bharat Coking Coal Limited, it has passed on the responsibility of vacating the town entirely on the unsuspecting residents. But it is not their fault, but the BCCL’s, that the town is on the verge of collapse. According to the mining companies, this is not the first notice served to the residents of the area. But if these very companies were serious about the safety of the people of the subsidence area, then why did they not take preventive measures and stop mining when they got the first hints of subsidence? By issuing vacation notices periodically, the companies have made their evil intentions apparent. Neither did the administration come forward to evacuate the unsafe area. The hazard has been caused by unsystematic and illegal mining by the coal companies. How is it that the local municipality sanctioned new building plans even when the criticality of the situation was well known? Evicting the 40,000 residents of Barakar is not an option, and not just because of the magnitude of the task. Why should so many people have to suffer for the callousness of the State and the mining companies?

Yours faithfully,
Ramesh Gupta, Barakar

Sir — The mining and industrial labourers have been among the neglected classes of workers in India. Their safety always gets the lowest priority. Same is the story of labourers in shipbreaking industries who continue to inhale poisonous gaseous fumes. Strangely, the unions of these labourers too have done little to put in place safety measures. A reason could be the low literacy among these classes which makes them vulnerable to the machinations of their employers.

Yours faithfully,
Avinash Gupta, Bandel

Sir — In the past few years, we have seen India competing with the developed nations in producing energy, iron ore, and other minerals. Ironically, the majority of these industries which mine these minerals is from abroad (as Indian companies is yet to acquire advanced technology). These are predatory companies looking towards exploiting weak States. Similarly the uranium deposit in Kylleng-Pyndemsohiong-Mawthabah (formerly, Domiasiat) in Meghalaya has lured many foreign firms which have shown keenness to invest in uranium mining operations and share the technologies for safe mining. These companies, after completing their operation, will pack their bags, leaving a trail of suffering and displacement of the tribal people as well as environmental disaster. The people of Domiasiat should not be fooled by the tall promises made by the multi-national companies. Representatives of the government and the people are no better than the overseas companies: both will absolve themselves of all responsibility when faced with a tight situation. Has anybody from the state or Central government visited the area before granting permission for uranium mining? The answer, in all probability, is no. Now the only hope rests on the NGOs.

Yours faithfully,
Macdonald.L. Ryntathiang, Shillong