When heroes go down Sir ? Let no diehard Indian cricket fan say the Pakistanis did not deserve to win against India at Eden Gardens. Is wrapping up a match after being precariously poised at 26 for six at one stage, anything short of a miracle? As for the Indian team, the less said the better. We are fed up of seeing our so called heroes lose matches despite being placed in winning positions and falling apart while chasing measly targets. When it comes to the issue of the chaos that took place in the last two days of the test match, it is the triumphant Pakistanis and not the puny Indians who have a lot to answer for. The hooliganism displayed by the former ? use of unseemly language on the field, their shouting and hooting like rowdies each time an Indian batsman got out ? exposed the lack of maturity of the so called ambassadors of Pakistan. A fielding side has to keep its elation within civilized limits during an international match. If the crowds are to be blamed, so must the Pakistanis for their provocation. The Indian team accepted defeat in a dignified manner. The same cannot be said about the way the Pakistani team embraced victory. Yours faithfully, Prasun Chakraborty, Guwahati Wasteland in rose tint Sir ? One should be cautious when congratulating the Left Front government for organizing the ?Destination West Bengal? jamboree at Raichak on January 17 (?Bengal bows to business sense?, Jan 18). Like McKinsey & Company, Arthur D. Little and Price Waterhouse had earlier painted a rosy picture about the possibilities of the state?s industrial revival. The rosiness did not translate into reality. Save for pretending to wield the whip on occasion, the Left Front has done nothing to overcome the hurdles posed by poor work culture and militant trade unionism. Instead of wining and dining industry captains, the communists should hold businesslike meetings with union leaders and workers. Nothing will improve till the latter realize rapid industrialization is an imperative in an era of liberalization and globalization. People are faced with the hard realities of rising unemployment, redundancy and voluntary retirement schemes. Trade unions must abandon the path of confrontation with the management. Investors will not put their money anywhere unless they can make healthy profits for their shareholders. It should be recalled that some years back, foreign investors came to Calcutta by the plane loads for a high profile Confederation of Indian Industry conference. Jyoti Basu and Somnath Chatterjee made numerous foreign trips at taxpayers? expense to attract capital to the state. Memoranda of understanding were signed with much fanfare. Did any of it bring prosperity to this benighted state? Yours faithfully, Manoranjan Das, Jamshedpur Sir ? ?Destination West Bengal? ? promoting a dialogue on radical changes in economic policy and rapid industrialization between policymakers and investors ? was a brilliant idea. It is heartening that both sides have reached a good understanding about how to deal with poor work culture, lack of infrastructure and an adverse law and order situation. The chief minister, Jyoti Basu, particularly deserves praise for having told trade union leaders that the profitability or otherwise of a business depends on the relations between employers and employees. Both need to be concerned about targets of production, provision of inputs and optimal utilization of funds. He has also urged that incidents like the one involving the managing director of Bata India Limited, Keith Weston, do not occur in future. Given messiahs of the proletariat like Somnath Chatterjee and Buddhadev Bhattacharya have admitted that those resorting to labour militancy had miles to go on the productivity front, West Bengal may not be far from realizing the economic goals it has set itself. Yours faithfully, Naren Sen, Howrah Sir ? The much publicized Haldia Petrochemicals project ? West Bengal?s showpiece of industrial enterprise ? is not progressing well. For two reasons. One, lack of adequate infrastructure. Two, the absence of an industry-friendly climate. The Left Front government ? on the recommendation of the international management consultancy firm, McKinsey & Company ? has set up a high powered task force to form a timebound plan of action for removing infrastructural bottlenecks and for attracting investment for ancillary projects in Haldia. Part of the agenda of the task force, led by the state chief secretary, is the development and broadening of existing roads to facilitate easy transportation of materials. The group is to also find ways to minimize procedural hurdles to new investments. Unfortunately though predictably, a committee on infrastructural development was formed a year back but produced no positive results. One hopes the new task force will not go the same way. Of course, it has to be aided by the state government. In other words, the latter has to deal with those calling strikes, disrupting work or indulging in militant trade unionism with an iron hand. Yours faithfully, Samir Bose, Calcutta Sir ? ?Destination West Bengal? was a pro-rich farce. Everything that has been done whether for single or joint sector projects has only benefitted owners and the management. The employees of such undertakings remain overexploited: they have to struggle to acquire even the basic amenities of life. Economic miracles can hardly take place unless the government ensures that the beneficiaries of industrial recovery are the poor. Yours faithfully, Prahlad Ghosh, Calcutta Sir ?Working hours in most offices in Calcutta are linked to the standard set by banks which open at 10 am. Offices follow the 10 am to six pm working hours norm. Given Calcutta is expanding and people are settling down in faraway suburbs, some serious rethinking on office and banking hours is required. A visit to any public sector bank reveals that at 10 am only a bare bones staff mans some counters. Even at 10.30 am, most chairs remain empty. Consequently, nearly an hour of banking time is lost each day. Standard banking hours should be from 11 am to three pm as in Mumbai. Other offices can reschedule working time from 10.30 am to 6.30 pm. This would promote efficiency and better use of banking time. Latecomers must be penalized in banks and other offices. Yours faithfully, Sunil Garodia, Calcutta Sir ? It must be a case of senility. Or else the octogenarian Jyoti Basu could not have recently said the Left Front would not abide by the ?directives of the chambers? where bandhs were concerned ? only to then claim the strikes concerned were called by trade unions, not the left. On the one hand, the chief minister assured businessmen at Raichak he would do everything possible to ensure strikes, lockouts and processions did not take place. On the other, he went ahead to support the February 8 bandh called by various trade unions. Such inconsistencies indicate how egotistic and high handed the chief minister really is. No industry can flourish in West Bengal nor employment be generated as long the grand old man of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) remains more cadre-friendly than investor-friendly. Yours faithfully, K.K. Chakraborthy, Howrah Sir ? The letter writer, Abir Bhowmik, is right: Jyoti Basu deserves a place in the Guinness Book of Records (?Red riding hoodwink?, Feb 15). Who else over a period of more than 20 years could have systematically destroyed work culture and instigated irresponsible ?labour leaders? as successfully? Whatever songs to the capitalist?s tune he may sing today, Basu?s greatest contribution has been to popularize gheraos, sit in strikes, go slows, work to rules and, last but not the least, bandhs ? all democratic means of protest, of course. But it should be remembered the veteran communist could not have remained in the chief ministerial kursi for longer than the wink of an eye had West Bengal?s main opposition party not made squabbling into an art. Yours faithfully, Somnath Ghosh, Calcutta Letters to the editor should be sent to: The Telegraph 6 Prafulla Sarkar Street Calcutta 700 001 Email: the_telegraph_india @newscom.com Fax: 225 3240/41