Apropos of the editorial “Traffic lights” (THT, January 22, Page 8), my hearts bleed when I see our hapless traffic cops working enthusiastically in the toxic dust and fumes in the Kathmandu Valley, waving the green and red wands and alternatively flashing the ping-pong bat with stop and go sign.

The morning cold, the day heat and the evening darkness fail to dampen their spirit to energetically draw their wands and bats in all directions. Many a time I just amuse myself watching them from the seat of a bus or a tempo — I simply hate driving in Kathmandu — frantically waving their hands at the

traffic, sometimes jumping down from their high island and running after a motorcycle or two to snatch the keys, leaving the entire traffic in an anxious standstill. Our cops are very dedicated indeed and are adept at multi-tasking.

I am surprised our human rights activists, who are worried about labourers working in air-conditioned factories in the UAE or South Korea, have no feeling whatsoever for the traffic cops in the dust in the country. Had it been the US or the UK, our cops would have all left their posts en masse. So, what is the solution? It’s very simple. Install traffic lights at every bend, round and square (intersection) in the Valley. Fill the roads with traffic lights to save our cops from endangering their lives from toxic smog in the atmosphere. No money? The government can use some portion of the fines collected from traffic violators to install traffic lights and the same money can also be used to maintain them. Solar-fed traffic lights can solve this problem provided that their batteries are replaced on time and the panels are cleaned every week. No extra human resources will be required to manage the traffic lights.

Manohar Shrestha, Kathmandu

Hawkish

The controversy and outbursts over the Indian film “Padmaavat” are discordant and disruptive. Spewing out discriminatory remarks on others is purely against the spirit of the Indian constitution that gives all kinds of freedom to the people irrespective of their religion, faith, cast and creed. And such campaigns are being tossed only to create the petty political base.

People should discourage politicians with divisive aims and vested interests from contesting the elections. It cannot be denied that many people are still at the bottom level of livelihood and the root cause of their dismal state should be addressed. Rather than wasting their time and energy on a particular film, the politicians should focus on the ways to improve living conditions of millions of people through constructive programmes. And in that direction, the corrective steps should be taken to improve the wellbeing of the people. The provision of basic education and creating employment are all essential for them.

To sum up, the politicos should adopt people-centric policies by shunning hawkish politics.

P Senthil Saravana Durai, Mumbai