Tamil Nadu

No street lights

For the last few days five streetlights in our area are not functioning. Many complaints have been filed and as directed by SRP Nagar Electricity Board, we contacted the Board contractors Sunmak, but in vain. The contractors are not even attending phone calls to register complaints.

Even if they attend to the problem the work completed is not satisfactory.

We face a lot of hardships because of non-availability of street lights after 6 p.m. It is unsafe for children and women to walk on the road.

Khumaresh H S,

Saibaba Colony,

Recently a branch of an old tree fell on houses at Ukkadam injuring seven persons. Fortunately, there were no casualties. There are many such old and withered trees on all streets of Ramnagar, R.S. Puram, etc. posing danger. Already a few have fallen on vehicles, houses and on the roads. A few trees hang precariously which hit vehicle tops. We have informed the Corporation about this many times but no action has been taken to have the trees removed.

T.V. Kalyanakrishnan,

Ramnagar.

Tamil Nadu Government issued a few months ago an order to include Kovaipudur under the jurisdiction of Kuniamuthur police station which comes under the Coimbatore City Police Commissionerate.

Because of reasons known only to the Commissioner/the DIG of Police, Coimbatore range and the Superintendent of Police (Rural), Coimbatore, both sides i.e. the rural police and the commissionerate are reluctant to hand over Kovaipudur, thus not complying with the Government order. I request the Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore, the DIG of Police, Coimbatore range and the Superintendent of Police (Rural), Coimbatore, to clarify the position.

R.N. Rajan,

Kovaipudur.

Stray horses roam about streets, especially on Mettupalayam Road in the vicinity of the Industrial Training Institute. Some of them are not in good health. People For Animals (PFA) officials say the horses might have been abandoned by their owners. It is unethical to desert animals. The Government or non-governmental agencies should take steps to alleviate the sufferings of the animals.

S. Venkatachalam,

Kavundampalayam.

Coimbatore city is highly congested owing to lorry and bus traffic, especially in the Town Hall area. Lorries have been restricted from entering the city in the morning and the evening. Lorries coming from Kerala pass through Athupalem, Ukkadam and the Town Hall area and cause heavy traffic congestion during peak hours. The railway bridge at Ukkadam by-pass is likely to be thrown open to traffic. Because of the bridge work, lorries are diverted via Nanjundapuram and Ramanathapuram to reach Trichy Road. This in turn makes Nanjundapuram-Ramanathapuram Road heavily congested. The traffic police should control movement of vehicles through a web camera fitted at important entry points in the city. All vehicles coming from Palakkad and Pollachi should be diverted to the by-pass road. Oppanakara Street is another area which has heavy pedestrian and traffic flow. Hawkers, shopkeepers and two-wheelers encroach on the pavement right from the Prakasam bus stop to the Raja Street junction. Absence of a proper footpath from Shoba Corner, where the pedestrian flow is heavy, forces people to walk on the road leading to accidents. Parking of two-wheelers on the entire stretch from Shoba Corner to the Raja Street junction should be disallowed and a special enclosure near the Guru Hotel parking lot should be provided for the two-wheelers.

C.M. Jeyaraam,

Secretary, Ciizens’ Voice Club, Coimbatore.

This refers to ‘Vocational education and training…’(Dec. 3). The report has highlighted the multi-faceted vocational education imparted by Avinashilingam Jan Siksha Sansthan, formerly called Avinashilingam Shramik Vidya Peet. The institute funded by the Government of India, Ministry of Human Resources, is doing a yeoman service by giving job-oriented training for more than two decades. The beneficiaries of the training are school dropouts and other less privileged persons. The credit for setting up this institute should go to Sri Avinashilingam, freedom fighter, Gandhian and founder of educational institutions, Ramakrishna Vidyalaya and Sri Avinashilingam Deemed University for Women.

A. Ranganathan,

NGGO Colony.

I refer to the news item ‘Aaja Nachle back in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab theatres’ (Dec 3). I did not expect The Hindu to give such a prominence to a cinema news, which has relevance only to the producer and its distributors. The screening or not screening of this film will not in any way affect the common man. Please don’t disappoint your readers with such worthless news.

K. Subhash Chandiran

Saravanampatti.

Kovaipudur always bears the brunt of any problem and this time because of power shortage. Now that the Power Minister has said that rural areas will have power cut for half-an-hour every day, it is a green signal for the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) to cut power in Kovaipudur for nearly half-a-day instead of half-an-hour. Apparently, Kovaipudur is a “rural” area when it comes to power cuts but “urban” for other purposes. On November 20 the power shutdown in Kovaipudur was from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. On the same day there was no power from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. The daily power shutdown schedule in other areas of Coimbatore is from 9 a.m. to only 2 p.m. Since the timing and the duration of the power cut vary from day to day, I request the TNEB to come out with a schedule of power cuts for all areas of Coimbatore so that people will organise their activities accordingly.

Nandita. S,

Kovaipudur.

Is using biofuel a crime against humanity? Using various non-food crops for biofuel should be welcomed. But corporate bodies are venturing to convert food crops to fuel. Cereal prices are soaring in African countries; palmoil imported by India will cost more; the Ugandan government dropped the programme to grow sugarcane for fuel. In the European Union subsidy for energy crops has been reduced from US$ 63.83 per hectare. A UN special report insists on ‘Right for food’ and calls upon a five-year moratorium on food crops for biofuel. India is converting food crops for fuel. Tamil Nadu Agricultural University plans to bring 1.5 lakh acres of land under jatropha cultivation. Are they wastelands or cultivable lands? Is it ‘Food for the people or fuel for industries’? Does the government formulate policies or the corporate bodies?

K.K. Lakshmanan,

Tiruchy Road.

The need for an overnight express train from Coimbatore to the southern districts such as Madurai, Tirunelveli and Nagercoil need not be overemphasied. Owing to persistant demands from people and workers in the southern districts, who have migrated to Coimbatore, Tirupur and Erode, for a direct night express train, the Railway Ministry had announced in the last year’s budget a direct express train from Coimbatore to Nagercoil and vice versa. But the train has so far not been put on the track. According to the railway time table for the period from July 2007 to July 2008, an express train between Coimbatore and Nagerocil and vice versa has been numbered as 6610 and 6609.

Its timing has also been notified. But it is mentioned that the date of introduction of the express train (6910 and 6909) will be notified later.

Till date no notification has been given. Tirupur and Erode municipalities will be upgraded to Corporations from January 2008 and migration of more workers to these places is anticipated. Will the authorities concerned notify the date on which the train will be flagged off ?

V.Muthukrishnan,

C.K. Colony.

There is no footpath on the west end of Chinnasamy Road, the meeting point of 100 Feet Road junction. Vehicles go till the extreme edge of the road. Though there is a ‘No parking’ board, the area earmarked for footpath is used to park vehicles. There is an open ditch too. The stretch is used by schoolchildren, the aged and office-goers and is totally unsafe. Will the authorities please take remedial action?

B.J. Bhagat,

New Sidhapudur. (Readers can mail to cbereaders@thehindu.co.in with address and telephone number)

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