The erstwhile corporators and MCC authorities at all levels are responsible for the pathetic condition of the civic amenities. The careless attitude of these representatives and officials has changed the face of the City. Even the public too is equal responsible for the bad civic facilities in the City and even they need to have a better civic sense.

The RTO bus stop opposite Nehru Maidan stretches about 300 mts from University College to A B Shetty Circle and there are more than a dozen bus stops within this stretch. Earlier, each of these stops had a board indicating which route number would stop at which bus stop. Months ago while re-decorating and putting up hordings, these boards were removed and till date have not been replaced. Due to this, both the local people and tourists are facing problems.

Since there is no guarantee as to which bus will stop at which bus stand and since the buses too do not follow any rules, the commuters in general and elderly in particular are posed to risks as they have to run from pillar to post to board the bus on the precarious roads. With the elections round the corner, the responsible candidates must take action to replace the indication boards at the earliest for the comman man’s convenience.

IJS Shet
Morgan’s Gate

When Rome was burning, Nero...

The adage of ‘When Rome was burning, Nero was playing flute’ very well applies to our politicians (MLAs and MLCs) who have gone on foreign jaunt to China. It will be a 13-day tour and about 70 MLAs have already taken their flight to China under the pretext of study tour. The cost of this tour will be around Rs 4 crore which would be met by our generous government, as a gift of Suvarna Karnataka Utsava celebration.

This year, during rainy season, due to torrential rains, flood caused heavy damages everywhere. Many people lost their lives, great loss caused to crops. The estimated loss in Karnataka is around Rs 4,000 crores. Mangalore has suffered a loss of Rs 52 crore as estimated. Our government has sought for the relief from Central government.

When the people of Karnataka are suffering badly due to this natural calamity, is it wise to go for foreign tour to study about the developmental activities and other basic infrastructure.  In fact, their presence is very much necessary to help the people of flood-hit areas and sacrifice their tour thus saving that much of Rs 4 crore, so that it can be utilised for such noble cause, instead of spending for the enjoyment.

Should not the government enforce economy measures when we are experiencing the dire consequences of the recent floods? Why spend extravagantly on tours? Government should curtail expenditure and be more economical so that such savings can be diverted to flood hit areas.

Our ministers and MLAs have also previously gone on tour to foreign countries to study various aspects of that countries and to introduce their systems here. But hardly, we find any progress in this matter. Our rough seas always cause sea erosion.

But the sea wall has not yet come up even though one of our ministers went to France to study their technology. Our Corporators have also gone on study tour. But that too has not been materialised and we can very well notice the present position of our Mangalore City. So it is nothing but wasting of tax payers’ money. One wonders whether it is a study tour or a merry making tour; God alone knows!

J F D’Souza, Attavar,
Mangalore.

Home deliveries, a dangerous trend

Home deliveries is not my cup of tea. It has never and will never affect my lifestyle, because the best and the healthy way to live is to enjoy go out shopping and eat out. As it is, the younger generation are becoming couch potatoes, and it is being reported that in India, the cardiac problems are the highest among the youngsters.

Food which are home delivered will never be as good/tasty as freshly cooked food, and will add on to your midriff problems. Those were the days when blockbusters like ‘Naya Daur,’ ‘Sangam,’ ‘Sholay’ and ‘Bhaktha Kumbara’ were screened in the good old theatres of Mangalore, and we were so excited to rush to the theatres, stand in the queue to buy tickets and, enjoy those movies. These memories are still green and pleasant.

Today we get the tickets delivered to our homes, and visit the theatre like a guest/VIP and watch the movies.

With instant foods, fast foods, roadside dhabhas and handcart food vendors, we are ruining our own younger generation by encouraging them to go for them.  It is time, we become aware of the dangers of this lifestyle and revert back to our old active lifestyle.  With our kitchens getting filled with ready to eat food, the taste of mothers/grannys cooking will be lost for ever along with the quality of food. Let us preserve our old lifestyle with a modern outlook, without compromising on the quality of food and our health.

B N R Rao.
Vivek Nagar,Kulur

Readers may send their letters to The Editor, Deccan Herald, Yenepoya Chambers, 2nd floor, Balmatta, Mangalore or e-mail to dhmangalore@deccanherald.co.in.