As the new year begins we look back at the year gone by through your eyes and your contributions to this column.

January

Biswadeep Bhattacharya paid with his life for failing to live up to his father Deepak’s expectations (Father fells teen champ, January 9). No sportsman, from Boris Becker to Shane Warne to Prakash Padukone, was born a legend. They could certainly not become what they are if they had fathers like Biswadeep’s.

Arindam Basu,
Birati.

Just because the authorities have woken up to their inhumanity, hand-pulled rickshaws should not be banned without rehabilitation of the pullers (Puja reprieve for rickshaw-puller, January 10).

Moumita Sengupta,
Behala.

February

The fact that Utsav has a driving licence raises questions about the system of issuing licences (Held for drunken joyride, February 8).

Jayantabishnu Mukherjee,
Address not given.

Apropos “Morgue rats on nibble spree”, February 22, it is unfortunate that Visham Ray’s body was nibbled by rats in the Sambhunath Pandit Hospital morgue. In November 2005, at the same hospital, ants had nibbled an eye of a patient. How could the hospital management allow a repeat?

Sukumar Ghosh,
Mukundapur.

Apropos “Commemoration”, February 22, the rodent population at Curzon Park is indeed popular. While most people try to kill rats at home, at the park the pests are offered food!

Prahlad Agarwala,
Majdia, Nadia.

March

When a hand baggage is put on the conveyor belt of the X-ray machine, is it not under the temporary custody of the airport security personnel (Laptop, cellphones vanish at security check, March 7)?

Ashim Choudhury,
Mandeville Gardens.

Apropos “To use water, go by purse”, March 5, what happens to the numerous taps installed on streets by political parties to win votes? Gallons of water are wasted through them. Will these taps go dry after the introduction of water tax?

Anindya Kundu,
NK Ghosal Road.

The report proves that police remain in the clutches of politicians (Senior ire for dutiful cop, March 26). I salute sergeant Amitabha Chakraborty for trying to make a politician’s son abide by the rules.

Rakesh Bhatia,
Loudon Street.

April

Apropos the report that students of South Calcutta Law College were beaten up by train passengers in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (Molested on train, to and fro, April 5), passengers do not pay through their noses to be beaten up by the residents of the railway minister’s state.

Kajal Chatterjee,
Sodepur.

It will be tough to ban the use and sale of tobacco on and around campuses (Tobacco ban flouts across campuses, April 10). Youngsters by nature are rebellious.

Moumita Sengupta,
Behala.

Apropos “Trees under attack”, April 13, it is unfortunate that some unscrupulous people would not hesitate to poison trees for personal gain.

Govinda Bakshi,
Budge Budge.

It is the norm in Bengali families to impart some musical training to children, especially daughters (Abuse battle begins at home, April 12). Suparna was also sent for kathak classes. Who could imagine that in her case, the parents were guided by purely a business motive?

Sukumar Ghosh,
Mukundapur.

Had the other boys intervened, the fight between the two teammates would not have ended in tragedy (Shock wave over cricket field death, April 16). The extreme reaction of the common man after Team India’s exit from World Cup is a good example of the general lack of tolerance.

Subhankar Mukherjee,
Borehat, Burdwan.

The report “Sourav’s bat, Bhaichung’s jersey”, April 20, Sourav might have failed to take Team India to the Super Eight in the World Cup, but his contribution to the auction, along with those of some other sporting legends, will definitely give a few girls living in Howrah station a home.

T.R. Anand,
Budge Budge.

May

The Central Board of Secondary Education recently announced that it will burn answer scripts within three months of the publication of the board examination results (Campus script RTI, May 1). Don’t they know that the Right To Information Act gives one the chance to seek information even 20 years later?

Dinabandhu Mukherjee,
Behala.

June

Apropos the letters on harassment of a schoolgirl in a private bus (June 13), copassengers not protesting against misconduct by drivers and conductors is common. Autorickshaw drivers emboldened by political backing of unions are worse. Nobody protests to avoid complications.

Nishith Mitra,
Mahinagore.

Apropos “IFA lakhs missing”, June 20, it is shocking that the record room of the Indian Football Association (IFA) office was set on fire to destroy accounts-related documents and the treasurer is a prime suspect. The big guns of the IFA are more involved in the monetary game than in the uplift of Indian football.

Govinda Bakshi,
Budge Budge.

The report “Rs 15-lakh ransom trap”, June 19, came just before Jamaisashthi and within a couple of weeks of another report on the obsession of girls’ parents for techie sons-in-law. Decades back, most marriages were arranged. Relatives used to verify the antecedents of the prospective in-laws. That is seldom the case now. Girls’ parents lose their sense of reasoning at the prospect of having a techie son-in-law. A colleague’s daughter was recently married off to an NRI techie. On reaching the foreign shores, the girl found that the husband had a Caucasian wife!

Chameli Pal,
Batanagar.

Apropos the photograph of Akshay Kumar (Jumping Jack of Hearts, June 21), one fails to understand how he was permitted to perform a dangerous stunt in public. What if a youngster dies in trying to emulate the screen hero?

A.S. Mehta,
New Alipore.

July

It appears that the mayor of Calcutta is only interested in what is happening in Mumbai (Mayor points to Mumbai while Calcutta goes under water, July 4). We wish that he is quickly elected to the post of Mumbai mayor. It does not cheer up a dying man to learn that the man in the next hospital bed is also dying.

Agnimitra Chaudhury,
Prince Anwar Shah Road.

Apropos the report “Heckled in office, institute director resigns”, July 21, it is shocking that the director of the School of Tropical Medicine had to resign after being heckled and abused by members of an employees’ union. Trade union muscle has cost our state dear not only in terms of diminished productivity but also in terms of perception among outsiders.

Sunil Banerjee,
VIP Road.

Should we bother about an unobstructed view of the Hooghly only from the Howrah station (Frown on riverside eateries”, July 21)? Babughat is in the grip of unauthorised occupants. It is strange that the government directed the Howrah municipality to rehabilitate the owners of nine illegal hotels near the station. Rehabilitation of encroachers, while tax-payers don’t have minimum amenities, has become a tradition.

Nishith Mitra,
Mahinagore.

The report “Cop who knows every criminal”, July 25, made for a wonderful read. I hope there’s a passenger like Sujit Bhattacharjee on every bus! The pickpockets would then switch to some other profession.

Suranjan Bonnerjee,
Parnashree Pally.

September

Umrao Jaan failed miserably at the box office. Sholay, under the name Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, too, has turned out to be an even bigger flop (Ramu’s Aag fades to solitary show in plexes, September 10). It seems remakes are not liked by the audience. Instead of wasting crores of rupees on meaningless remakes, a trust could be set up to provide assistance to people from the industry who have fallen on bad times.

B.N. Bose,
Dum Dum Park.

Apropos “Better deals bring artisans online”, September 12, it is good that some artisans are getting fair price for their products, thanks to the Internet. Unfortunately, the Internet remains out of bounds for many talented rural artisans. They remain dependent on middlemen.

Rathin Chatterjee,
Dum Dum.

October

Apropos “Lax curb leads to plastic bag return”, October 3, plastic bags had never gone away from some parts of the city. Traders hide the bags when the authorities come calling. What does not help is that educated people insist on using plastic bags.

Anindya Kundu,
NK Ghosal Road.

Bengalis woke up on Mahalaya to the shocking news that Suchitra Sen had been hospitalised (Screen legend fights fever, October 11). Though Sen quit films long back and has not been seen in public for decades, she remains in the hearts of crores of Bengalis. It is a great relief that Sen has recovered.

Sourish Misra,
Salt Lake.

November

Apropos “Horror tales in trouble spots”, November 22, I am shocked that a girl returning from school was hit by a stone. How could people be so inhuman? If they want to protest, why do they have to impede common man’s life? Moreover, did the rioters know why they were fighting?

Suyesha Kanungo,
Kalighat Road.

The report “Diabetes count up four-fold”, November 23, is alarming. The state health ministry should do something to curb it.

P. Agarwala,
Nadia.

December

It is sad that a bleeding man lay on a busy place like VIP Road for three days without evoking the sympathy of those who passed by (Calcutta’s callousness, December 13). This shows that Calcuttans are becoming mechanical and self-centred.

Ratan Kumar Halder,
Behala.

Letters on reports appearing in Metro may be sent to:
The Telegraph (Metro)
6, Prafulla Sarkar Street
Calcutta - 700 001
E-mail: ttmetro@abpmail.com