Fresh lease of life for Amaravati
“Amaravati will be the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh,” new Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has thundered. Rightly so because Amaravati is Naidu’s brainchild. After Telangana was carved out of an undivided Andhra Pradesh (AP) in 2014, a unique land-pooling method was adopted by Naidu, who was then at the helm of AP, while building Amaravati. Naidu knew that Hyderabad would cease to be the joint capital of both states in 10 years, i.e in 2024.
The “core city” comprising the secretariat and the high court, among others, was planned to meet the deadline of 2018. Acquiring 33,000 acres of fertile agricultural lands from 18,000 farmers is no joke, and Naidu had once again proved that he was a man of vision. However, following Naidu’s loss in the 2017 assembly elections, the new chief minister Jaganmohan Reddy had different ideas, and he mooted three capitals, Vizag, Amaravati and Kurnool for executive, legislature and judiciary respectively.
Much water has flowed under the bridge since then and, importantly, the AP High Court in 2022 ruled that the government “cannot dump Amravati”. With Naidu's return, Amaravati has received a fresh lease of life. Though the core capital of Amaravati is almost ready, a lot needs to be done, and Naidu will bank heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurance of a “special package” to Andhra Pradesh.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
Underground cabling and electrocution
Power department officials were reportedly forced to disconnect supply in Anjuna after a snag in the underground cabling led to current flowing into a streetlight pole.
It was noticed that some stray cattle seemed agitated as they passed the streetlight pole. It was found that current was flowing in the pole and in the area around it. According to the power department officials, a fault in the underground cables caused a short circuit which was rectified. It may be recalled that a few days back a buffalo calf died at Marcel. Locals have claimed that the calf was electrocuted due to underground cabling. If a person had to come in contact with the live underground cable it would have resulted in a disaster.
Underground cabling has been completed in several places across the state.
In the rainy season, roads and pavements get flooded with water. It is common knowledge that water is a good conductor of electricity. Hence if a live wire from an underground cable comes in contact with rainwater it can lead to electrocution.
Poor workmanship while laying the cable, external mechanical damage during digging, moisture, overloading among others, are the reasons for faults appearing in underground cabling. It must be said that faults in underground electricity cables are more dangerous than those in overhead cables. They can cause fatal or severe injury and necessary precautions need to be taken to avoid any untoward incident.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
FDA should raid fruit markets
Propelled by the quick buck syndrome, vendors who wish to avoid the 3-4 days wait for the normal method of mango ripening with hay, use the harmful chemical instead.
The chemicals give the fruit a misleading ripe and healthy look. Calcium carbide is the most commonly used chemical to ripen the ‘king of fruits’. These methods make mangoes appear a bright yellow and enjoy a longer shelf life but are dangerous for consumption.
Though calcium carbide is banned under sec. 44A of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, but continues to be widely used by fruit merchants/vendors/traders. For ripening bananas vendors use calcium carbide and others prefer the conventional stove method. If one individual is eating calcium carbide-ripened fruits, it is probably equal to consuming slow poison. The FSSAI/FDA must carryout raids against vendors using chemicals to ripen mangoes.
K G Vilop, Chorao
Gulf States should protect workers
This refers to news report “Kuwait building fire kills 49, mostly Indians’ (June 13), the devastating fire that broke out in the building housing workers in the Kuwait city of Mangaf, where over 41 Indians lost their lives is indeed tragic news. While the Kuwaiti authorities have pinned blame on ‘greedy real estate developers’ the responsibility for the tragedy goes far beyond that.
Cases of migrant workers from India and other South Asian countries working in the GCC countries, falling into the death trap have been reported frequently.
While the migrants escape unemployment and poverty at home to take up overseas assignments and earn some income for their families through foreign remittances, they normally undergo a lot of hardships, living in cramped quarters with no proper sanitation or safety equipment. Such conditions are not the result of individual property developers or isolated employers bending the rules; they are the result of rules being designed in this specific way.
In a nation notorious for their strict law enforcement and onerous documentary requirements for every commercial establishment, ensuring compliance with building safety laws shouldn’t be a problem. The Gulf States must do more to protect the workers who build and run their smart cities with their toil.
Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti government as well as the employer must do their best to send the mortal remains of the dead to their respective countries and ensure the families of victims are compensated suitably.
Gregory Fernandes, Mumbai