Correct the system, then the individual Sir, In factories, safety is taken care of by a clearly defined Act, with regular audits, periodic inspection and corrective measures including punishment on failures. Such a practice is not followed in establishments like schools and malls. At these places, safety measures are checked only at the time of construction, that too in a casual manner. When an accident takes place, a whole lot of people start commenting on the need for measures for safety. Vasavi School has been functioning for more than 20 years and nobody thought of getting the safety mesh provided in the building. Similar is the case with Garuda Mall. Lakhs of people are using the mall but nobody came with safety suggestions. If these two or three accidents had not taken place things would have been going on as usual. The system has to be corrected rather than an individual. M K Visweswara
Bangalore
Punish the guilty
Sir, The ongoing blunders by the blueline bus drivers in New Delhi needs stringent action. The need for more business by way of getting more passengers is costing innocent lives. It seems that the public concern system is not able to do justice. The government must realise that most of these blueline bus drivers are not trained and the technology in the hands of such people is dangerous. Efforts should be made to hone their skills so that human errors could be controlled. Ravia Gupta
Bangalore
Will she do it?
Sir, Indian Parliament has been debating unsuccessfully over the last one decade on the women’s reservation bill. Despite the fact that powerful posts in major political parties have been held by women, they could not achieve unanimity so far. However, with the election of Prathiba Patil as the first woman President of India, our country has been able to correct the gender bias. It remains to be seen whether our new women President will be able to deliver the goods particularly to a large section of women residing in rural areas majority of whom are harassed, exploited and treated as guinea pigs. Harikrishna S Holla
Bangalore
Expect a miracle Sir, When Lalu Prasad was inducted into the Union Cabinet and assigned the Railways portfolio, many eyebrows were raised and silent chuckles heard as people expected massive corruption and collapse of the enterprise. Now the results speak for themselves! Likewise, we should defer judgment on Pratibha Patil. N Dharmeshwaran
Chennai
Rise of dark moon
Sir, Few citizens care what the new President should be addressed as, they have other ave concerns. The media is highlighting her virtues of simplicity, dietary preferences, and playing the harmonium. Is that sufficient qualification for a head of a multifaceted country? Many are ignorant about the dark side of the moon and many have voiced their concerns about the puppet President. Yet, the country and the politicians can’t get any better. With the 13th President, it’s the rising of the dark side of the moon for the country. Perin Ilavia
Bangalore
Young blood needed
Sir, Another five years will go by with the new president. The ruling alliance at the centre wanted just a rubber stamp – not a thinking President who could be the true custodian of our Constitution. Unfortunately, the Congress perpetually wants a weak subservient of the party to be the president – history tells it more vividly. Then comes the so called secular principle to have a Muslim as a vice president. For a country with over a billion people, are there not younger persons who can fit these roles, we are still struck with 70 plus youngsters taking us through the new millennium. Murthy
Bangalore
Correct the system, then the individual 
