Unfair ranking

Sir - The transgender persons (protection of rights) bill aims to provide transgendered people with social safety by putting them in the category of other backward class. But why should transgendered people be called the third gender? The government does not seem to realize the absurdity of ranking genders. It is not surprising that the condition of women and transgendered people in India remains pathetic. Besides, why should transgendered persons be classified as OBC?

Yours faithfully,Nilanjana Ray, Calcutta

Sacred belief

Sir - The report, "Priceless ties for only Rs 10" (July 22), on the front page of the Jharkhand edition of The Telegraph may have hurt the religious sentiments of the devotees of Shiv, who is the reigning deity of the Baidyanath Dham in Deoghar. The report says, "Shravani Mela... has surprises aplenty that the rational mind can't fathom". Is The Telegraph questioning the faith of the devotees as well as of the men who climb the tall domes of the temples to tie the ceremonial thread on top? The latter risk their lives and get just Rs 10 per climb from the temple authorities. But the climbers are of the opinion that they are serving Bholebaba in this way and the pay does not matter much. They also want their children to carry on with the tradition.

Several temples in India have the custom of sending people to the top of domes to tie a scared thread or a flag. For instance, at the Jagannath temple in Puri, the dhwaja - the sacred flag - on the pinnacle is replaced everyday by members of a family, which has been performing this task for generations. Everyday, a new flag is tied to the wheel on the top of the shrine. On every ekadashi - an auspicious day that falls on the 11th day of every lunar fortnight in the traditional Hindu calendar - a lamp is lit on the top, near the wheel. People who witness the flag-changing ceremony consider themselves to be fortunate. The old flags are distributed among devotees in return for money. As in the case of Deoghar, in Puri too, the popular belief is that there has been no mishap till date in the process of replacing the flags.

The Telegraph could have suggested safety measures for the climbers or campaigned to ensure a higher pay for them instead of raising questions of rationality.

Yours faithfully,Aritra Ghatak, Chakradharpur, Jharkhand

 

Dark shapes

Sir - The Indian civet, known in Bengal by various names such as bham biral, khatas, gandho gokul, is causing much disturbance in the residential areas of Tollygunge. These animals are nocturnal. They are agile climbers - I have seen them climb drainpipes and jump across ledges with ease. The civet cats often venture inside houses at night in search of bananas, mangoes and other eatables. They also eat pigeons and other birds. Perhaps as a result of this, the number of pigeons, sparrows and mynas has decreased sharply in our area.

These animals multiply at a fast rate and their growing population is a cause for concern. The threat posed by civet cats is a typical example of man-animal conflict in the city. The real estate boom, which has lead to the chopping down of trees, has left the civets with no alternative but to venture into residential complexes. We are quite scared of them. The forest department should capture the animals and relocate them in a suitable habitat.

Yours faithfully,Anirban Biswas, Calcutta