MyVoice: Views of our readers 1st October 2021

Lowering Modi's dignity through fake news

Recently the fake news that is being widely shared on social media in India is regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi featuring on front page of New York Times paper.

But the daily on Wednesday said an image of the front page article featuring Narendra Modi, with headlines 'last, best hope of Earth' was completely fabricated. Circulating fake messages like these not only lower the dignity of the PM but also the Nation. People behind this morphing of photo did it just to elevate Narendra Modi's individual image.

Even National General Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party Youth Wing, Rohit Chahal retweeted it. Rahul Chahal has over 76, 000 followers on Twitter. These 'post- truth politics' stunts will ruin the dignity of leaders and country.

Most of the people across the country believed the news as true and shared on social media. Before sharing messages on social media people must try to find out messages whether fake or not with available resources like fact check websites.

K Manoj Kumar, Bhupalpally

Congress digging its own grave again

At the end of it all, the Congress seems certain to lose Punjab from its kitty in the upcoming assembly elections, which wouldn't have been the case, had Amarinder Singh stayed on to lead the party.

The clueless Congress 'High Command' seems to be losing its grip over the party, going by the frustration and hopelessness expressed by senior leaders like Kapil Sibal and Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Among two states ruled by the Congress, Punjab seems to be a goner, going by the events that evolved there. It's no better in Kerala, where the party is trying to restore some semblance of unity, and responsibility as the main opposition party.

Dr George Jacob, Kochi

Do we need a bullet train from Hyd to Mumbai?

It is really strange that when the country's economy itself has rolled down to the rock bottom due to aggressive Covid pandemic waves for the past two years and when people are struggling to meet escalated survival costs including meeting heavy medical expenses, the central government decides to take up the ' Mumbai- Hyderabad Bullet train ' which is so expensive and presently not at all required.

It is the duty of central and State governments to help the common man at these points of juncture. I don't understand as to who will be benefited if the bullet train makes its presence in these circumstances.

Except for a few high level business persons, nobody will show interest in purchasing these train tickets. Further it should be noted that instead of this 3 hour train journey, the business people will only choose to go by flight and not train.

It will be less tedious and more comfortable for them to undertake a journey by flight to Mumbai from Hyderabad. It is high time that the governments desist from undertaking such huge useless projects at least for the present and pool up all their resources for the welfare of the common men and the senior citizens/ retirees whose money is being utilised improperly.

Katuru Durga Prasad Rao, Hyderabad

Konaseema development gets a booster shot

It is heartening to know that the central government has declared Amalapuram- Ravulapalem road as a National Highway, thanks to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari for responding positively to the state government's request ( Minister thanks centre for declaring Amalapuram-Ravulapalem road as NH, THI 29 September 2021).

The Social Welfare Minister Pinipe Viswaroop has rightly stated that the new NH will give a big push to business and helps the konaseema people in many ways.

Besides helping travelling public it will facilitate farmers to transport paddy, coconut etc. to other areas without difficulty. The central delta of East Godavari district, also known as Konaseema, is an island cut off from the mainland on three sides by the Godavari tributaries and on the fourth side by the Bay of Bengal.

This densely populated and predominantly agriculture area has remained far from development in many ways mainly due to transport bottlenecks caused by poor internal road structure and absence of railway line.

The Kotipalli-Narasapuram Railway Line under consruction is expected to be completed in 2-3 years. With the completion of NH 216 and the new NH 216 A, Konaseema will have improved connectivity.

It will go a long way in facilitating all round development of the region and contributes to the national economy as well. There is tremendous opportunity for development of tourism besides agro-based and gas-based industries in the region.

The beautiful canal system and the Godavari River can also be explored for environment-friendly water transport and for setting up of floating markets .

The coconut groves, the banana orchards, beautiful beaches , the unique culture of the people and many pilgrim centres make konaseema, often compared to kerala, a big tourism draw providing market for coconnut products,fish, handloom and DWACRA products. Proper planning with a vision will make Konaseema a model for eco-friendly development.

Dr E R Subrahmanyam, Amalapuram