Emerging force

Sir — The Bangladesh cricket team ought to be congratulated for its stupendous victories over cricketing giants such as India, Pakistan and South Africa in the recent past (“Bangla smash South Africa to win series”, July 16). While it might not be surprising that Bangladesh beat Pakistan 3-0 and India 2-1 — wickets around the subcontinent often tend to resemble one another, so it is possible that Bangladesh knew how the Indians and Pakistanis would play — it is certainly commendable that a team often called “minnows” beat a heavyweight team such as South Africa. It was a historic victory for the captain, Mashrafe Mortaza, and his men. 
Bangladesh’s successive victories in these one-day international series points to the emergence of another cricketing giant from the sub-continent. India, Pakistan and Sri lanka, along with other cricket-playing nations around the world, should not take Bangladesh lightly. The latter has been performing well ever since the World Cup. One hopes to see more brilliant performances by Bangladesh, which has resolutely discarded the “minnows” tag. 

Yours faithfully,
Wazir Hossain, Calcutta

Sir — It was thrilling to watch Bangladesh beat teams as strong as South Africa, India and Pakistan. For a long time, most cricket lovers believed that Bangladesh would lose any Test or ODI series it played, unless it was competing against other weak teams. With its successive victories, Bangladesh has proved that this is untrue. Shakib-al Hasan has been ranked as the world’s best all-rounder in all formats of the game. Both Shakib and the skipper, Mashrafe Mortaza, entered the 200-wicket club after the crushing defeat their team inflicted on South Africa in Chittagong. Shakib became the second bowler from Bangladesh after Abdur Razzak to have claimed 200 ODI wickets. He also became the fastest cricketer to make 4,000 runs and take 200 wickets in ODIs. The Bangladeshi opener, Soumya Sarkar, joined the list of the world’s top 15 batsmen after having played only 16 ODIs. Mustafizur Rahman destroyed India’s batting line-up. Thus, an important debate that these series wins have ended is the one surrounding the inability of the Bengali community to do well in sports. In the past, The Telegraph had observed, “The list of men and women with Bengali names who figure among the top global performers in any form of sport is not a very long one” (“To a golfer”, April 13). That list has now grown considerably longer owing to the stellar performances put up by the Bangladesh cricket team. The players must now perform just as well overseas.

Yours faithfully,
Tasneem Rahman, Calcutta

 

Slow and steady

Sir — As the editorial, “Bad idea” (July 15), rightly observes, banning liquor in a state is not the solution to the problems of women who have to deal with alcohol-induced violence from their men. A ban will also not save men from the evil effects of alcohol consumption. The chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, should not consider putting in place a liquor ban in his state if he is voted back to power. If the demand for alcohol exists — and it certainly does — a steady supply will be made available, and the black market will flourish. The sellers will become richer, the buyers poorer, and the administration will be able to do nothing about it. 
Relentless awareness programmes have succeeded in the eradication of small pox as well as in bringing down the number of polio victims. They have also encouraged people to donate blood and crucial organs such as eyes and kidneys. While raising awareness may prove to be a slow process, it will yield results. If politicians are truly concerned about the people instead of just garnering votes, then they will be able to put a stop to alcohol 
addiction.

Yours faithfully,
Sambhu Nath Chowdhury,Nabagram, Hooghly

 

Equality first

Sir — The editorial, “On a par” (July 13), correctly observes that it is time to do away with the archaic practice in which a Muslim man merely has to pronounce the word, ‘talaq’, three times to divorce his wife. This practice falls within the purview of Muslim personal laws in India. However, it will not be easy to abolish such an old practice, which privileges the man over the woman. It empowers the man to 
divorce his wife even when he is not in her presence; the woman is left to grapple with a life of uncertainties, stigma and financial insecurity. The blatantly misogynistic nature of this custom has increased the difficulties faced by many women from the minority community; it has prevented them from keeping pace with their fellow citizens in terms of empowerment and social freedom. It is shameful that such an evil practice still exists in India and no decisive step has been taken to put an end to it. 
The need of the hour is the establishment of a common civil code to render the triple ‘talaq’ system obsolete. It has been difficult to bring about change in this sphere because the practice is tied to religious sentiments. It will be futile to expect legislators to consider the needs of Muslim women over their own political gains. But in order to bring about the required change, the women themselves must raise their voices and fight for their rights. One must remain hopeful that the Supreme Court will find a favourable balance between religious sentiments and the need for a uniform civil code, as it is urgent for the system of triple ‘talaq’ to be done away with. 

Yours faithfully,
Janga Bahadur Sunuwar,Bagrakote, Jalpaiguri

 

BIHAR 

Meaningless words

 Sir - The former chief minister, Jitan Ram Manjhi, does not seem to be a very serious person. I have rarely heard him make comments in seriousness. I do not understand why he does not keep his word; he keeps changing his opinions regularly. I have seen Manjhi addressing a press conference with the expelled MP, Pappu Yadav, at his own residence, in the course of which he gladly said that he was ready to take the post of chief minister. He was seconded by Yadav; however in the evening of the same day, he made a U-turn and claimed that he was never eager to become the chief minister. What kind of leader will he be if he cannot stay firm in his beliefs? He may represent a section of society that is poor and downtrodden, but that does not give him the liberty to say things he does not mean. The people of Bihar are not foolish. A few days ago, while addressing a public meeting in Bhagalpur, Manjhi said yet again that he was fully ready to take up the post of chief minister. What does he want exactly? If he keeps making such contradictory comments then people will stop taking him seriously. Manjhi was infamous for making controversial statements when he was serving as the chief minister. It is time he started sticking by the things he says.

Yours faithfully,
Avinash Kumar, Patna

Sudden change

Sir - This is with regard to the cleanliness measures taken for the visit of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, to Patna on July 25. It has been a customary practice in Patna that the city streets are cleaned thoroughly only when a VVIP arrives in the city. If it is possible to remove the garbage from the streets and streamline traffic in a matter of two or three days before the arrival of the prime minister, president or any other important person, then why cannot the same happen all round the year? Even the Patna High Court had conferred the title of "dirtiest state capital in the country" on Patna. Scattered garbage is a common sight on most streets; the situation worsens in the rainy season. The civic body here does not seem to have the machinery nor the willingness to clean the streets. Moreover, would the authorities allow stray dogs to come in the way of the prime minister's cavalcade? If not, then why do they allow thousands of stray dogs to wander on the streets at other times? Patna is infamous for traffic snarls, but whenever a VIP or a VVIP visits, then they are miraculously cleared of traffic in a few hours. This shows that the authorities have the ability to control traffic, but they simply abstain from carrying out their responsibility in this regard. I would like to urge the authorities to stop inconveniencing the common people, and treat them the way they treat VVIPs. The city should not depend on the visits of VIPs to look like a respectable urban settlement.

Yours faithfully,
Praveen Kumar, Patna

 

ORISSA

A clarification
 

Sir — This letter is a rejoinder to the news item, “IIT head refutes Sangh charge”, published in The Telegraph on July 22. I am sorry to say that the title is false and misleading. The statement I have made is with reference to two institutes — IIT Bhubaneswar, wherein I have been serving as director for the last three months, and IIT Kharagpur, where I have been working for the last three decades. 
I do not have any information, nor am I aware of the happenings in other institutes of technology or in the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, pertaining to the claim made by the Organiser. Therefore, I am not in a position to either refute or support the statement made in the Organiser. The rest of the remarks attributed to me in The Telegraph are mine.

Yours faithfully,
R.V. Raja Kumar, Director, IIT Bhubaneswar

 

Smart plan

Sir — The Central government should have proper guidelines for selecting smart cities so that the states do not face any problem in picking up the right cities for this ambitious project. As of now, there is a lot of ambiguity in the process of selection. This adds pressure on the state governments. All people want their cities to be elected in the smart city category so that these can be developed properly. This creates division within the states. In case of Odisha, the people of the western parts of the state feel that they have always been neglected and that any Central project is allotted to the coastal areas. So the state is going to get divided if a city from western Odisha in not included in the smart city category. 
The Central government should let the state government take the decision and select any two cities. The state government should do it through proper consultation with the people of the respective areas. This would also stop the ruling parties at the Centre and the state from engaging in political gimmicks to serve their own interests. 

Yours faithfully,
Satyabrata Swain, Bhubaneswar

 

Sir — There is a huge gap between Bhubaneswar and other cities in terms of infrastructure, facilities and living standards. Hardly any other city in the state matches up to Bhubaneswar, which keeps on improving itself with funds from various projects of the Central and state governments. The state government should allow other cities to be brought under the smart city list and developed on a par with Bhubaneswar. The state government should also push for small cities from different parts of the state to be covered under the Central government’s Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation. This will help develop various regions. I hope that the state government would look into this problem and not create confusion among the people, as it had done while allotting the area for the Indian Institute of Management. 

Yours faithfully,
Anirban Mishra, Khurda

 Sir — The decision of the state government to propose five cities of the state as smart cities cannot be of much hope to residents of the state. There are previous instances of the state government failing to encash on Centrally funded schemes. Bhubaneswar was once proposed for a solar city project. The dismal performance of the city in this regard is an example of the tardiness of the state government in executing such programmes. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation had signed a memorandum of understanding with a private partner in 2011 to create a master plan for becoming a solar city. Four years have passed till then and even a new government has been formed at the Centre. But the solar project still remains elusive for the capital city due to apathy of the state government. 

Yours faithfully,
Ranjan Murmu, Jajpur 

Sir — Before the smart city challenge actually starts at the national level, the state government has created a controversy by requesting the Centre to take five cities into consideration. This recommendation by the state government to the Union ministry of urban development is uncalled for as Odisha can only get two smart cities as per the population of the cities. While the nation is going to have only 100 smart cities and the number of cities in each state has already been discussed, how can the Centre change the figure for Odisha? 
In the recent past, the state government has played with the sentiments of people from several cities as it kept them on tenterhooks regarding the location of the IIM. Due to the politicking, the IIM finally went to Sambalpur instead of Bhubaneswar. There should not 
be any such play of politics regarding the smart city project. 

Yours faithfully, 
Samita Pathy, Balasore

Sir — The state government is proposing five cities for the smart city tag. Bhubaneswar, especially, should get it since it has a number of quality institutions, renowned business houses, good roads and infrastructure. A town like Rourkela should also be ready to get the tag if a few developmental projects are undertaken there. But I feel that all our cities and towns should have an efficient transport system to facilitate the movement of all sections of people. On several occasions, we have to wait for long to get transport. Bhubaneswar is well connected through railway and airway. Now that international flights are also running from Bhubaneswar, the chances of its getting the smart city tag are high.

Yours faithfully,
Subhashree Behera, Bhubaneswar