Andhra Pradesh

It’s ‘real’

Can a person from middle class, particularly salaried class, buy a house of his own? Absolutely impossible, going by the present trend. Lot of people squarely blame the Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA) for the situation.

The VUDA, they allege, is responsible for the soaring land prices through its open auctions, so much so, owning an independent house has become a luxury and has gone out of reach of the middle classes. In a year or two, buying a flat will also be out of bounds for them.

Already, a two-bedroom flat in the city costs around Rs. 25 lakhs. The Government should come out with housing schemes for all the salaried class, like it does for the poor and weaker sections, through the Housing Board and VUDA by providing heavy subsidy. Then only the working classes realise the dream of owning a dwelling.

The acid attack on a college student at Palasa by a physics lecturer deserves the strongest punishment allowed under the law of the land. The incident of spurning his love has evoked condemnation all over the State.

Since the victim has suffered 50 per cent burns due to the dastardly attack and undergo the trauma all throughout her life, the State as well as NGOs should come forward to lend her support to lead a normal life by helping her complete her studies.

Can you ever imagine scores of people waiting listlessly to receive their near and dear ones by unduly delayed flights break into a smile all of a sudden?

This was what happened when representatives of Soundarya Lahari went to the airport last week. A couple of incoming flights were delayed and people were walking up and down outside the arrival lounge frowning at the frequent flight delays.

“I was taken by surprise when most of the waiting persons suddenly broke into a smile looking towards the arrival lounge,” recalled president of Soundarya Lahari Uma Devi later at the 10th anniversary celebrations of the organisation.

It was the arrival of popular comedian Brahmanandam that brought a smile on everyone’s lips. Just looking at him was enough to make people forget their problem (endless wait) at least for a while.

Brahmanandam who acted in over 750 films, said: “I consider it as God’s gift.”

Prabhakkar Sharma, Santosh Patnaik and

B. Madhu Gopal

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