Begging for attention

Sir — When the Centenary building of the Bose Institute was constructed, a Chintamoni Kar-sculpted statue of Jagadish Chandra Bose contemplating an Indian Telegraph plant held in his hands, was installed in its grounds. I noticed a few days ago that the small bronze plant was missing and Bose looked as if he was begging with his palms joined and turned up. I was informed that the plant has not been there for the last two years. Doesn’t the ruined statute of a great scientist merit the attention of the national media?

Yours faithfully,
Prasenjit Chaudhuri, Calcutta

Ominous clouds

Sir — Coming on the eve of the World Environment Day, the editorial, “For its own sake” (June 4), reminded Indians of the need to be proactive to check the rising levels of pollution all over India. The United States of America has its own interests in making India, along with China, share the responsibility of global warming with it. While India should try its best to counter the US’s political manoeuvrings, it should also take the threat of global warming seriously. India is yet to formulate a concrete policy to counter pollution, although China has been advancing fast in this regard. The Union finance minister had talked about a committee on climate change in his budget speech. This committee should start functioning immediately and recommend measures to save energy or reduce the consumption of fossil fuel.

Yours faithfully,
C.R. Bhattacharjee, Calcutta

Sir — India is one of the chief contributors to global warming, which has resulted in melting glaciers, unnatural floods and unexpected climate changes all over the world. Unless India gives up the consumption of fossil fuels, it would continue to pollute the environment.

Yours faithfully,
Ashish K. Mohanty, Gurgaon

Sir — Environmental issues seems to have caught up in a big way in India. Seminars and camps were organized to mark World Environment Day. But the enthusiasm is more apparent than real. Although environment education has been made compulsory by most boards and universities of India, it continues to be neglected. The attitude of the authorities towards the subject is exhibited by the fact that in most cases it is taught by teachers of other topics. Come Pujas, and the same people who had organized programmes for the World Environment Day can be seen immersing the idols in the Ganga. Environmental awareness is more of a fashion-statement than the indicator of a genuine concern for the ecosystem.

Yours faithfully,
Mala Mandhyan, Jamshedpur

Sir — While everyone seems to be concerned about the deteriorating environmental conditions of India, no none is doing anything concrete to check the rapid degradation. The numerous hotels down the course of the Ganges starting from Rishikesh are polluting it everyday. The hill stations of Ooty and Mahabaleshwar are no longer cool today as massive agricultural lands are being converted into industrial zones. The receding forest-cover all over India has caused tigers and other wildlife to dwindle significantly over the past few years.

Yours faithfully,
Harischandra Parasuram, Mumbai

Sir — Precious little is done to curtail air pollution of Calcutta. I was appalled to see brown clouds of smoke emanating from the chimney of a factory located on the stretch of Foreshore Road between Rabindra Setu and Vidyasagar Setu. Is the West Bengal pollution control board bothered about the emission of highly corrosive gases?

Yours faithfully,
B.M. Mandal, Calcutta