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The row over sharing the Cauvery has shown that we are not as altruistic as we would like to think. We seem to have been programmed not to share resources when they are required for our own survival. The row has also exposed the hollowness of our pretensions to patriotism. We say we are Indians first, but when it comes to sharing river waters, we are Kannadigas and Tamils first. It is not just between States, it could well be between districts or between even villages. It is extremely sad that farmers of one State are pitted against farmers of another State.
The upper riparian States tend to believe that the rivers primarily belong to them. The overreaction to adjudication by the apex court has brought out human foolishness at its worst.
The Supreme Court has rightly pulled up Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the protests. Still, compliance with its orders and the avoidance of a constitutional crisis are a tribute to the resilience of our democracy.
G David Milton
Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
The unintended consequences of interconnecting rivers have not been properly studied. Canalising river waters to neighbouring States is creating more problems. Kerala’s argument for constructing a check dam in the Attapadi region is that there are no major or medium retaining structures in the command area of the project. It is unfortunate that after centuries of so-called civilisation, we continue to depend upon rain for our water needs. Goa and Maharashtra too have water disputes. Most irrigation facilities are privately owned lift irrigation systems, confined to small patches.
Hansraj Bhat
Mumbai
Water down the wash machine
This is with reference to ‘It’s pouring business for washing machine makers’ (September 16). There is no point is going in for washing machines to save labour and then rushing to the gym to sweat to maintain health.
Plus, machines consume more water than when clothes are manually washed. So much waste of water!The traditional way of washing clothes not only serves as exercise but also saves water.
Vazhuthur Raghavan
Bengaluru
Distribute the food
The Government is hopeful of record food output in 2016-17. Let’s hope the producers get good prices and the produce is distributed well.
We must have a huge buffer stock, but we should prevent hoarding. Still, our farmers deserve far better irrigation facilities. Then they wouldn’t be so dependent on the monsoon.
S Ramakrishnasayee
Ranipet, Tamil Nadu
Don’t dishoom discoms
The recently launched UDAY scheme is expected to revive discoms. Power distribution companies in India have long been victims of political decisions. State governments should restrain themselves from the forcing discoms to distribute power at unviably low prices. Improving efficiency and introducing smart metering will certainly help.
Amala S Maheswari
Kozhikode
No takers
This refers to ‘Can bonds piggyback on equities?’ by D Sampathkumar (September 16). Let us understand why people don’t invest in corporate bonds. There are two types of investors in India. Those who want assured returns go for bank deposits because they are well regulated for repayment of principal with interest. Those who are willing to take risks go for equity investment either directly or through mutual funds.
As long as there is a default element in the corporate bond, investors are not likely to prefer this. The return by way of interest can never match the expectation of investors for the risk perceived. Redemption bonus can hardly be an incentive. Instead, if repayment guarantee is provided with better interest rate compared tofixed deposits, it will attract investors. But who will provide such a guarantee when many corporates are bank defaulters?
When there are no takers for bonds in primary market, there can hardly be an active secondary market for them.
S Kalyanasundaram
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