A hike of Rs. 7.54 in a litre of petrol is the third hike during the current year. Experts relate it to the fall in the price of rupee. This decision taken by the Government at the last session of the Parliament has evoked criticism not only from the opposition but from some of the allies of UPA II as well. Karunanidhi of DMK said he would ask for a the rollback of increase in the price and Mamta Banerjee of Trinamul Congress, an ally of the UPA II, has threatened to withdraw her support if the price hike is not rolled back. The Prime Minister has said in his UPA II meet that some hard decisions had to be taken. Price hike in petrol is bound to cause some set back to the popularity of the UPA Government. This can have adverse impact on vehicle manufacturing enterprises in the country. We hope the Finance Minister will find a way to resole the deadlock over price hike.
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Selecting a school for my son
Sir,
Yesterday, I went to one of the prominent schools in J&K. It is renowned for quality education and extra curriculum activities. My son is old enough to get admission in school. As a responsible father, I was very excited to make available best of the best education to my child. I am around various high profile schools. After rigorous hunt and consultation with teachers, friends and relatives, I managed to select a few for my child. I belong to the middle class section of society and believe that I can afford quality education to my son. Here the real story starts : I and my wife went to the school along with our son. We were given warm welcome at the reception by the beautiful receptionist. She apprised us with various attributes of the school like; AC class rooms, AC buses, State of art infrastructure, swimming pool, various sports etc. She did not tell us any thing about teachers that may be an idol to our child. Anyhow, we went ahead with discussion and came to financials. Very confidently she told it is only twenty five thousand admission fee and Rs 2500 monthly fees. Mind you these expenses does not include expenditure towards Annual School Function, picnic, various festival celebrations, school uniform, books etc. I suddenly started mathematics in my mind. To my surprise, total expenditure stood at 80 thousand per year. Rs 6700/- per month and one fourth of my salary. I gave her a confident look and assured her to come back soon. My wife, who was actively involved in the discussion till the moment financial aspect was disclosed. After that she did not speak a single word and we left the premises. Thereafter, we went to two more schools which were in the second and third position in our selected list of schools. There were no major differences neither on school attributes nor in admission fees. To make is more pathetic, there is no such school in Jammu that can provide good quality education with less recurring charges. Besides huge burden of school fees, we may be forced to pay tuition fees which may run into several thousands. What can a middle class section do but to bear the forced expenses. I wish if I could afford these expenses and may give better future to my child; better than me.
Yours etc….
Anoop Singh
Campaign against female foeticide
Sir,
‘Satyamev Jayate’ is the ancient, fundamental and authentic indicator of the moral code of conduct of our country ‘Bharat’. It is found prominently engraved on frontal portion of all vital institutions such as Parliament, Supreme Court and many others of the same genre. But with the passage of time and in the whirlwind of globalization, sustained delinking from our cultural roots catalyzed by blind imitation of glamorous but morally bankrupt life style of so called developed countries as a sequel to demolition of all barriers and the significant moral checks, ‘Consumerism and Commercialization’ have occupied the central stage. Resultantly, our moral and social code of conduct ‘Satyamev Jayate’ has also taken the hit and we find ourseves groping in abysmal sea of darkness.
At this crucial juncture the country is worst afflicted with the scourge of destruction of female foetus in the womb as a result of predominantly inhuman mindset of the parents, greed and gross misuse of medical expertise of the professionals and the prevalent adverse socio-economic conditions in the country. Amir Khan, a cynosure of Bollywood deserves kudos for launching the awareness campaign through the electronic media entitled as ‘Satyamev Jayate’. This is good thinking on his part and programme is getting positive response from the concerned authorities and the connected people. Child abuse is also becoming a burning problem in the country. This is also a commendable effort to make children aware in respect of falling prey to sexual abuse viz-a-viz precautions and the safety measures they can resort to in the event of dangerous situation.
People should feel emboldened and fully charged to respond overwhelmingly to support this cause and urge upon Parliament to pass a strong law extra-ordinarily required to save the progeny for better future of the nation.
Yours etc…
P C Sharma
Trikuta Nagar
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