Moral mission

Sir — Anupam Kher seems to be caught in a time lag (“Kher kaanta for music videos”, July 29). Not only is he out of touch with the times and with the tastes of today’s teenagers who lap up suggestive music videos. But he also seems to have forgotten that Sushma Swaraj, during whose tenure he became chairman of the censor board, is no longer in office. And that her replacement does not care about sleeveless blouses, FTV and condom ads. Kher can thus end his moral crusade. Or better still, put it to better use so that the much-acclaimed Final Solutions, on the Gujarat riots, sees the light of day.

Yours faithfully,
Ranjana Banerjee, Calcutta

Road to disaster

Sir — In its eagerness to widen roads, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation has not cared to ensure that the footpath is broad enough to walk on and free from squatters and vendors. Take Park Circus, where the road just before the Bridge No 4 has been widened. This has definitely helped the traffic, but what about pedestrians, who have no choice but to risk their lives by walking on the road?

Yours faithfully,
Shahnaz Rahaman, Calcutta

Sir — Widening of some major roads in the city has been carried out with creditable speed. For vehicle owners, wider roads have made driving safer. But the footpaths and road dividers which were dug up to widen the roads have become parking lots for autorickshaws and other small vehicles. Thus the very purpose for which the roads were widened has been lost. But the city police does not seem to have the time or urge to keep the roads free.

Yours faithfully,
Rabindra Singh, Calcutta

Sir — The two recent road accidents, followed by mob violence, at Park Circus and Rajarhat recently, are a pointer to the city’s fast-crumbling infrastructure. Transport and other public utility services in this city are in a shambles. What with the pressures of population and the growing number of vehicles, traffic in the city moves at a snail’s pace. The typical driver here is a reckless, ignorant nitwit who has little regard for traffic rules, while the typical pedestrian is vain and pompous and does not care even for his own safety, until something goes wrong. One only needs to stand near the traffic islands at the Kasba and Park Circus connectors to realize this. Right of way seems an alien concept to the Calcuttan. Thus overtaking from the left is the norm, as is jumping the red light and crossing the road without looking either way. Add to this a traffic police out to make a fast buck, and no wonder Calcutta is such a deadly place.

Yours faithfully,
S. Dutta, Calcutta

Sir — Bus owners must pay compensation to victims of accidents in which their vehicle was involved. After all, it is often the drivers’ propensity to forget that they are not on the race track but on the road, along with other vehicles and pedestrians, that leads to fatal accidents.

Yours faithfully,
Atri Bose, Calcutta

Sir — Simply making the Motor Vehicles Act more stringent in order to rein in rogue drivers will not work. Accidents in Calcutta are the result of a faulty traffic management system — made worse by an apathetic traffic police, who would rather not set right the system which allows them to make money through bribes or fines in traffic violation cases.

Yours faithfully,
S.S. Almal, Calcutta

Sir — I paid four different fares for travelling from Lake Town to Madhyamgram by a public bus last month — Rs 5, Rs 6, Rs 7 and Rs 8. In buses in Mumbai, in contrast, there are regular inspections by ticket-checkers. There are also surprise checks by plainclothed inspectors who pose as passengers. In Calcutta, even if you spent a lifetime travelling by bus you wouldn’t see an inspector. So buses feel free to charge anything. But bus conductors aren’t the only ones to blame when the administration is sleeping.

Yours faithfully,
Sabyasachi Mitra, Calcutta