About another barbaric ritual

Sir, While the controversy over the jallikattu (bull fight) in Tamil Nadu hogged the headlines in the national and international media, it was far more shocking to know about a horrifying ritual that happened in a Karnataka village on the same Sankranti day.

In a barbaric ritual in Melapura in Yadgir taluk of Gulbarga district,  over 6000 sheep and goats, many of them young ones, were literally thrown from top of the buildings and hillocks towards the village deity which was being taken in a procession from the temple to a lake.

These offerings were being made by the  “devotees”, who had “vowed” to do so. Many of these panic stricken animals got killed or were trampled upon by those in the procession. After the event the Government in a bid to dispose of the animals auctioned them and the successful bidder “ enriched” the State exchequer with Rs 2.6 lakh.

Krishna Vattam
Mysore

Aussie juggernaut

Sir, Hats off to team India for recording a spectacular win in the third Test match against Australia. Having lost the Sydney Test match due to faulty umpiring decisions, a determined team India stopped the Aussie juggernaut in its tracks at Perth, by outplaying their rivals in batting, bowling and fielding.
The young and energetic bunch of Indian cricketers under the captainship of Anil Kumble have sent a strong signal to the Aussies that they cannot be taken for granted.   

B H Shanmukhappa
Davanagere

Selection

Sir, It is not the right time to select the One-day squad when the players are enjoying their historic victory and preparing for the
final test.
If age is only criteria for election of players, I think the selection committee could have dropped Sachin Tendulkar also and aim to build a new generation team. I think the selection committee is very harsh in their exercise.

Janakinath A R
Bangalore

Common sense

Sir, Sourav Ganguly’s non inclusion in the One-day team is highly unjustified as he has been in consistent form right from his recall last January. If he is excluded owing  his age then Sachin Tendulkar is no exception!
The selection committee could have waited, as there is a gap of about 10 days between the 4th Test at Adelaide and the first One-day, and this is a proof that the selection committee generally lacks common sense!

R G Srinivas
Bangalore

Kudos to BBMP

Sir, Kudos to the BBMP Commissioner and his team for carrying on the work of the underpass near the Cauvery junction, undettered by the unnecessary comments  about the delay.
We complain about traffic snarls and when the problem is being attended to we want miracles. People objecting to the delay are those without their own conveyance or those who do not use this particular stretch of road.
Unexpected delays are likely in works of this nature which will enable free flow of traffic, once completed.

Gailing Begg
Bangalore

Murder in US

Sir, It is shocking to read the news related to the murder of yet another bright Indian PhD student in the US.
Whilst my heartfelt condolences go out to the bereaved family, the central government should take up the matter strongly with the Bush administration on top priority.

Going by the recurrences of such dastardly acts in the campuses of the US universities, one wonders whether some organised agency (loyal to the enemy of the Indian diaspora) is behind such heinous crimes.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should make an earnest effort to find a solution to this burning issue.

J N Mahanty
Puri

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