Avoid junk food
This refers to the news report, ‘Tamil Nadu also joins Maggi ban wagon’ ( The Hindu , June 6). It is good news for the health-conscious people that the Tamil Nadu government has banned the manufacture, stocking and sale of Maggi noodles and three other brands since the products were found to be containing unacceptable levels of lead. Whenever we go to hospitals for treatment of any ailment, the first thing that the doctors advise us is to avoid instant food items. Similarly, a number of canned food items manufactured by multi-national companies are available in plenty even in small grocery stores. Nowadays, children as well as adults have become addicts to packed food items. The government departments should undertake research of all packaged and fast food varieties and ensure that they contained no substance injurious to health. I earnestly appeal to consumers not to rely on such products as it is always better to consume home-made food only.
S. Nallasivan,
Tirunelveli
Shift bus stop
The North High Ground Road proceeding from Palayamkottai bus stand to High Ground in the eastern direction is a vital road for all public vehicle users. In this, there is a junction near St. Xavier’s College, which faces heavy traffic flow during peak hours due to the presence of many schools and colleges. When a bus stops at the bus stop at the District Club corner, the view of all vehicle drivers coming through South High Ground Road to South Bazaar Road is blocked. The bus stop can be shifted to St. Xavier’s College where the college has formed a bus bay which is not in use.
Also urge the district administration to activate the traffic signals in this junction.
V. Meenakshi Sundaram,
Tirunelveli
Stray animals
Movement of domestic animals is one of the reasons for accidents on the outskirts of Tirunelveli. Domestic animals are allowed to roam along the highway posing a threat to vehicles. They often attempt to cross the busy highway and interrupt speeding vehicles. About ten accidents involving animals happen every month near Karungulam in Tirunelveli district. The officials must take action to make the highway safefor motorists.
R. Srinivasan,
Tirunelveli
Inadequate bus service
Thirukkurungudi, a town panchayat, which has a population of around 20,000, does not have frequent bus services to cater to the temple, which is one of the 108 Vaishnava Divyadesams. The holy town is not frequently connected by bus with either Nagercoil or Tirunelveli. I request the transport authorities to make necessary arrangements to introduce more bus services for the benefit of pilgrims as well as residents.
Ravi Ramanujam,
Thirukkurungudi
Garbage dumps
Nagercoil is a clean town with greenery all around, yet marred by narrow streets and bad roads full of pot holes. Adding to the woes of residents, sanitation workers dump the garbage collected from the houses at one particular spot in each street, to be collected cleared in a day or two. Garbage from such ‘collection centres’ on the Christu Nagar Road, Water Tank Road and the one near SLB School gets strewn all over, resulting in unbearable stench while the threat of consequent epidemics cannot be ignored. These ugly, stinking and hazardous garbage heaps, which exist in almost all the streets of Nagercoil, cause a lot of inconvenience to the people, destroying and polluting the serene and healthy environment.
G. Stanley Jeyasingh,
Nagercoil
Ticket counter
A reader in this column had written about the need to keep the ticket counter open at the northern entrance of the Tirunelveli railway junction from morning till at least 9 p.m. so as to enable the passengers to avail themselves of the facility of buying either platform or travelling ticket until the trains around 9 p.m. depart or arrive. ( The Hindu , May 19). A few days back, thanks to The Hindu , the authorities have installed two automatic ticket vending machines at this entrance which could be utilized by only those who possess smartcard which could be purchased from the Supervisor whose office is at the main entrance. One has to buy the smartcard for a minimum of Rs 100 out of which the passenger could use only Rs 52. The rest of the sum (Rs 48) is a gain for the railways. Perhaps, regular users of train services, unmindful of the loss and capable of operating the ticket vending machine, may get the benefit out of it. This machine is going to be of no use to those who travel occasionally and also to illiterates. The best option would be to keep the manned ticket counter for issuing platform or travelling ticket open from morning till 9 p.m. on all days.
J. Baby Harlin,
Palayamkottai
Voter ID card
The details of voter’s identity card are filled up by voters in the prescribed form and submitted along with proof. When the voter ID card is received it contains so many mistakes, like wrong date of birth and wrong door number or street name. As a result, the voters have to approach the authorities in the taluk office for rectification. The public have to pay a fee of Rs. 25 for a fresh application and provide a passport size photo again. It means the voters have to pay a penalty of Rs. 25 for the wrong typing of details on the ID card.
The authorities concerned should be instructed not to collect Rs 25 to rectify typing errors.
Shanmuga Subramanian,
Tirunelveli
Country bombs
I refer to the news report ( The Hindu , June 14) about the seizure of 292 country bombs in a surprise check conduced by the police at Koothenkuzhi. This is not the first time that such have been found in the coastal villages. We have heard of fisher folk using country bombs during clashes. I wonder how these people get the chemicals to produce the bombs and the police should bring to book the culprits who supply the chemicals. The dangerous part of this episode is that these hamlets are closer to the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant. The Central police force should be deployed in villages closer to KKNPP to safeguard the people.
E. Rajakumar Arulanandham,
Palayamkottai
