Rain causes suffering — when it fails, it leads to water scarcity and flooding and inundation when in excess (“Rain floods hit city, scares residents, hits life”, November 3). Normally, in Chennai city, there is hardly any rain barring a phase and when there is a major depression and a cyclone. In spite of abundant and advance forecasting, the government seems to have failed miserably in prevent flooding in low-lying areas. Storm water drains should have been cleared and encroachments affecting the smooth flow of water removed. The rainwater bounty is again being lost as there has been no attempt to store the excess water.
D. Sethuraman,
Chennai
While the rain holidays declared by State government are a welcome pro-active step and will ensure the safety of young children, I feel that the rather unpredictable nature of declaring holidays and the arbitrariness surrounding such a move can be avoided.
The government should seriously contemplate shifting term holidays to a period of three weeks beginning October 20, or the day the north-east monsoon officially sets in. The usual quarterly and half-yearly holidays can be swapped. This will ensure that the academic curriculum is not held hostage by the vagaries of the northeast monsoon, unpredictable weather forecasts and knee-jerk government orders.
K. Ramachandran,
Chennai
