This refers to ‘Glitz, greed and garbage in Gurugram’ (March 15). Most of the working class of NCR go to Gurugram for work and it will not be an exaggeration to say that realty firms have changed the complete landscape of Gurugram, making it attractive for most corporates to have their offices there.

But that's only one side of the story. When it comes to basic civic amenities and availability of public transport, Gurugram falls short big time. All those plush apartments and glitzy condominiums are no good if outside and within those premises residents don’t have access to basic civic amenities. It is said that if you want to buy a property in Gurugram, visit the location during monsoon — in all likelihood it would be submerged in water.

The State government must take drastic steps to make this Millennium City a better place to live in.

Bal Govind

Noida

Pollachi horror

The Pollachi sexual assault and blackmail case has underlined the need to address one of the most submerged social problems — sexploitation. The offences committed against over 200 vulnerable young women for years on end in Pollachi are just the tip of the iceberg.

The fact remains that vulnerable young women are trafficked and forced into sex in most parts of the country. It was tragic that a few victims were reportedly driven to commit suicide.

Thanks to their financial and political clout, sexual beasts that make young women, mainly from impoverished families, their sexual prey go unpunished. It is a cause of national shame that sexploitation of young women goes on unchecked despite stringent laws to punish the abusers. We cannot accept sexploitation as the way of the world. No civilized society can.

G David Milton

Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Sedition law

As per media reports, the Congress party is toying with the idea of repealing the extant sedition law, in the name of boosting ‘democratic dissent’ across the country, if voted to power. The genesis of such a proposal may be found in the ‘recommendation’ of the manifesto committee of the AICC headed by the former Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

It may be pertinent to recall that the infamous 2016 JNU campus episode led to the slapping of sedition charges and the matter is currently sub-judice. One wonders whether the Congress party’s latest move to repeal the sedition law has anything to do with the said unfortunate incident. However, one genuinely wishes it were not so.

A mindless proposal as this is bound to play havoc with our national security, even as much damage has already been done on the flimsy yet self-serving grounds of ‘right to expression’.

Vinayak G

Bengaluru

Farmer suicides

This is with reference to ‘Maharashtra saw 4,500 farmer suicides despite 2017 loan waiver’ (March 15). Although debt is the main cause for farmer suicides, most of them can be avoided if we are able to counsel the farmers at the right time and in the right manner. For this, the government should take the help of, among others, good counsellors and NGOs. It is not only the burden of debt but visualising a gloomy future that drives farmers to suicide. In case of crop failure, if the farmer and his family can be given alternative employment/livelihood, no farmer will take this extreme step.

Waiver of farm loans is only a small step to prevent suicides. Raising the hopes of farmers by speaking to them and their family members and taking care of their families’ medical and other needs by the State in co-ordination with the CSR initiatives of industrial houses will go a long way in preventing farmer suicides. By encouraging small-scale and cottage industries in villages, the families of poor farmers who are unable to earn from their farmland or who have lost their crops can be given alternative employment.

Veena Shenoy

THANE

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Send your letters by email to bleditor@thehindu.co.in or by post to ‘Letters to the Editor’, The Hindu Business Line, Kasturi Buildings, 859-860, Anna Salai, Chennai 600002.