Much has been written about the garbage problem in the city. Plastic is not yet banned here, which means plastic waste will be generated. People should be shown ways to dispose of plastic wastes.
The government and the Corporation are busy patting their back for the ‘excellent’ performance in civic duties. It is a cruel joke on the citizens.
G. Ramachandran
Sreekanteswaram
The cut-off
mark fiasco
The cut-off mark ensures that only those who score a minimum in the entrance test get on the rank list. The ten mark cut-off is for a total of 480 marks — just above three percentage. The move to remove even this cut-off means that seats in private engineering and medical colleges will be sold to students who cannot even scrape together three per cent in the qualifying exam.
Harikrishnan D.
Sasthamangalam
Children’s park
in pitch darkness
Last Saturday we went to the Children’s Traffic Park at Shanghumughom. The four children with us had to wait for around 30 minutes to get bicycles to ride since half of the cycles are engaged by others. The other half was not fit for riding. A huge pile of cycles was rusting in one corner. The lighting system, including the traffic signals, inside the park was dysfunctional and children were riding around the park in almost pitch darkness, crossing each other at high speed at the intersections. Why do we wait for accidents to happen? When we install facilities, can’t we ensure that they are maintained properly?
Renjan Mathew Varghese
Thiruvananthapuram
Strange ways of Railways
When I took a sleeper class ticket in Netravati Express on December 24, I was asked to pay Rs.20 extra as reservation charges. The reservation ticket did not have bogie or seat numbers. Hence I had to scan the train from end to end in search of a vacant seat, failing which I would have had to stand the whole distance (Thiruvananthapuram-Kollam). Several people were standing even after being issued reservation tickets in addition to sleeper class tickets. It was clear that sleeper class tickets were issued in excess of vacant seats. The system was introduced by Railways recently. Earlier the reservation tickets were issued by the TTE for vacant seats only. Now, for a sleeper class ticket, a reservation ticket is also issued whether vacant seats are available or not. When a reservation ticket is issued, it is the duty of Railways to ensure a seat to the passenger. The seat number should be mentioned in the ticket. Otherwise, it amounts to cheating the passenger.
Renga R.
Pappanamcode
Rescheduling
KSRTC to suit all
If the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) intends to reschedule its routes to increase profits, the
changes should be well thought-out. At times, buses ply one after the other on the same route. This, when hundreds would be waiting for buses at other routes.
KSRTC buses’ schedules clash with those of private buses resulting in fewer passengers.
Therefore a thorough reschedule is imperative to make the enterprise profitable as well as beneficial to the public. The public depend on KSRTC in the early hours and late into night. So, while rescheduling, the authorities should take into account the utility of the service and not just go for profits.
G. Muraleedharan
Vattiyurkkavu
