Desist from giving volatile speeches
Sir, Prompted by political compulsions, M Karunanidhi has at last relented in a damage correction action by postponing the execution of the Hogenakal project. Had he refrained from his earlier vitriolic outburst, the disruption of normal life by unruly mob attacks, both in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, could have been averted. This is not the first time that Karunanidhi is making injudicious outbursts that tend to arouse mob fury and violence that  disturbs normal life.

Not long ago, in a viciously worded attack on a Supreme Court ruling on reservation, he came out with a volatile outburst and even organised a state-wide bundh when he himself was heading a state government. Again, a couple of months ago, when the Sethusamudram issue cropped up, apart from questioning the very existence of Rama, he made a disparaging and totally unwarranted remark that Rama was a drunkard. When will these people refrain from making volatile speeches ?

 K Nagarajan 
Bangalore

Go for dialogue
Sir, It is unfortunate that passions are allowed to run freely with respect to inter-state disputes. The Hogenakal project is the latest example. Destruction of public and private property may only help in accentuating the tension and certainly will not help to resolve the issue.
Inter-state disputes should be resolved through dialogues, and, if that is not possible through the judicial or quasi-judicial processes. If we cannot rein in fanatical elements and make them abide by the rule of law, we certainly are not living in a democratic polity.
Jayaprakash Kallurkatte
Mysore

Learn from mistakes
Sir, It was one of those rare instances in history when the Indian batting crumbled to a good seam attack from the South Africans. The incapability of the Indian batsmen to counter the short pitched balls was well exploited by the Proteas.

It does put one under pressure, particularly if there is a difficulty to face these deliveries and then another challenge to keep the score board moving at a healthy pace.

Hope the Indian team learn from their failure and come up strongly to win and square the series in the final game at Kanpur.
R Girish
Botswana

Spectacular win
Sir, Chetan Anand’s spectacular progress into the finals at the Indian Open Gold Grand Prix badminton currently on in Hyderbad, is a great fillip to the badminton fraternity in the country.
His current form, we hope, will help him win the tournament and add another feather in his cap. Badminton in the country needs world class players  to carry forward the legacy left behind by the people like Praksh Padukone and Pullela Gopichand.
Sharath Ahuja
Bangalore

Bad roads
Sir, The roads in JP Nagar, 5th Phase, especially in Vinayak Nagar colony, provide perfect definition as to how a bad road would be. Potholes, uneven surface and uncleared garbage on either sides make the life of citizens miserable.

The stench emanating from uncleared garbage, particularly after rains, is horrible and gives an impression that this pl is one of the most polluted areas in Bangalore. The civic authorities should swing into action immediately.
Mohammad Zahid
Bangalore

Culture of a man
Sir, The language used by film star Rajnikant and the tone and tenor of his speech while talking about Hogenakal dispute confirms beyond all doubt his true character and culture.

In order to please his fans, he extolled the crowd of his ilk to kick a BJP leader without naming him and said the same thing about S M Krishna. In Kannada we have an adage that the tongue reveals the culture of a man. 
Veeresh Antin
Bangalore