Kshama Agarwal,
Girish Park

Merely naming a deadline is not enough to put an end to this serious problem. What the minister needs to do is convert the autorickshaws to run on LPG region-wise. Dealing with one area at a time will yield far better results. Proper and timely checks should be arranged to verify if LPG is being used.

Diptimoy De,
Narayan Roy Road

Once our transport minister proudly declared that he could do anything on earth except bringing the dead to life. Well, the autorickshaw-drivers smile every time he repeats such claims and they don’t take him seriously. For them, the minister’s threats have died a natural death.

Salil Kumar Kar,
Kedarnath Das Lane

Yes. In my opinion the transport minister is now serious in converting all autos to LPG by December 2008. In the event that the conversion does not take effect from December, the government will have to bear the brunt of facing contempt proceedings before the court.

P.R. Das,
Tegharia

The transport minister is partial to auto drivers. There is no question of threatening them. It is an eyewash, an attempt to get rid of any accusation in future of violating the court order on fuel conversion.

P. K. Ghosh,
Barasat

If we consider the transport minister’s track record, we can say that he has indulged in double-talk. He wants to prove that he means business, but at heart, he is one of the men at the helm of Citu and will give prime importance to the views of the party. He will hold talks with the trade union and ultimately defer the deadline.

Paramananda Pal,
Karaya Road

State transport minister Subhas Chakraborty’s recent vow of converting all autos to LPG mode by December 2008 does not appear to merit serious acceptance. To make the idea work, infrastructural facilities for the sale of conversion kits at subsidised rates and adequate supply of LPG for the autos should have been ready. The reality is far from it. But this veiled threat has possibly made auto-owners understand that they might have to convert to LPG ultimately.

S.S. CHATTOPADHAYAY,
Dhakuria

I don’t know if the transport minister will be able to convert all the autorickshaws by December.

AMRITA MALLIK,
Salt Lake

Over the years the ministers have only played power games and done nothing to improve our living. I think this is just another device of garnering votes because the elections are nearing.