Key to gridlock

Letters - January 15, 2013

Healthcare goes to the dogs

Ponty, buses and PPPs

Liquor baron Ponty Chadha and his brother who were killed in a fratricide incident had another business not widely known. Ponty had recently acquired the concession to run public transport buses in Delhi. His company had won the bids for three clusters with a combined fleet of 600-odd vehicles. Now questions are being asked about who will run the business.

Rapid transit for BRT corridors

Making an informed choice

When transnational carmakers talk about giving a choice to the customer regarding the fuel that will power their vehicle, they know that the average buyer in India knows next to nothing about the dangers of diesel. And the companies do precious little to make the customers aware. After all, it is business at stake. Public health be dammed. But people find out. In a democracy, it can be quite difficult to suppress information. And when they are aware, customers are quite capable of making an informed choice.

On foot and pedal

Pollution: the great leveller

A harried parent called a few weeks ago. She wanted to know if the pollution levels in Delhi were bad and if so how bad. The answer was simple and obvious. But why do you need to know? Her daughter’s prestigious school (which I will leave unnamed) had sent a circular to parents, saying they are planning to shift to air-conditioned buses because they were worried about air pollution.

Letters - March 15, 2012

Puranas as sci-fi

Letters - January 31, 2012

Safe or unsafe?

Deafening Noise

Ask Priyabrata Kanjilal, a grocery store owner in one of the bylanes of south Kolkata, for a Vim washing bar. Chances are he will produce an egg (dim in Bengali), for he cannot distinguish between the two words. Twenty years at the store has taken a toll on his hearing ability. During his eight hours at the store it’s not the good old radio that he listens to, but the steady groan of traffic on the 4.5-metre alley. Impatient honks and noise of trucks, buses, autorickshaws, cars and bikes are a constant. The 50-year-old is also a captive listener of the many religious, social and political processions that often pass through the road, all expressing their emotions through blaring loudspeakers.