MyVoice: Views of our readers 29th August 2022

Criminal waste of resources

Noida's Twin Towers have been demolished after the Supreme Court ruled that the buildings were built against the rules. A section of the society is celebrating this move as teaching a lesson to builders who built them illegally. In a poor country like ours, in which the resources are scarce and scores of people sleep on roads with no access to homes - destroying a building worth billions of rupees is an unjustifiable act. In the worst case, state could have taken over the structure - to put it to use in a suitable way. But the demolition ended up as a criminal waste of resources. However, illegality of twin towers in Noida is only tip of the iceberg, residential structures standing across the country can hardly comply with the rules laid down by the respective civic authorities. These illegalities in the real estate sector are rampant and thrive with nexus of the builder, state official and politician. Has any one of these perpetrators been put in jail for their wrongdoing?

N Sadhasiva Reddy, Bengaluru

II

While construction of mega super structures and skyscrapers takes years, its demolition is just a few seconds job. Thanks to modern technology & the SC (Supreme Court) which made the nation's mammoth demolition drive a visible reality. Both builders and buyers beware! Else such a fate would befall them also. Builders cannot take violations for granted. Similarly the civic bodies too should not allow illegal & unauthorised constructions else they too would be penalised heavily by the courts. Perhaps, in all probability courts may & can come up with a directive and ruling in this regard in the near future

N R Raghuram, Hyderabad

III

The building of the high-rises in the 'green corridor' violating all norms in the first place was a handiwork of the rapacious real estate mafia; it was an act of sheer folly; it was worthy of the Gulliver's Travels. If superior creatures from space visited earth and happened to watch the high-rises crashing down, they would form their own opinion about the level of our civilization. It is a matter of great concern that huge amounts of debris and dust in the aftermath of the demolition would pose health risks to people living in the locality. The message that 'illegal constructions' will meet the same fate as the Supertech towers should act as a deterrent. But if it does remains to be seen.

G David Milton, Maruthancode (TN)

Unique record for Anderson

James Anderson has become the first cricketer to play 100 tests at home, thus establishing a unique record. And he is doing so at Old Trafford, his home ground, opening the bowling from the end that bears his name. A legend of English cricket, he made his test debut in 2002 and lasting as a pace bowler for two decades. During the early part of his career he was considered too soft and lacking attitude. But since 2007 he has been a force to reckon with. With a classical side on action he generates natural outswing and the old ball reverse swing as well. He is having yet another unique record of going through 54 test innings without a duck, which is a record for a lower order batsman.

Calicut Krishnan Ramani, Ghaziabad

True spirit of journalism at stake

Dr Mohan Kanda's article 'My Tryst with the Fourth estate' ( August 25, THI) is quiet intersting and the writer evidently hit the nail on the head, bringing out certain undeniable and unpleasant facts about the press. It's true that sensationalisation of the news to attract the large number of viewers and to hike circulation is what we woefully witness with both electronic and print media. With multiple electronic media channels dishing out 24/7news all the time and the print media pushed into unhealthy race, the sense of what is news and what is not news is lost. Nowadays, especially media, regional electronic and print, mostly held by politicians and ruled by sensationalisation, the true spirit of journalism is destroyed and the viewer and the reader are misled and confused, not being able to grasp what is true news and what is false news. So it's time that especially the regional media, both electronic and print, must bid adieu to sensationalisation of news and revive the true spirit of journalism, following ethics and ideals of journalism and live up to be watch dog of democracy.

Dr Venugopala Rao Kaki, Kakinada