Apropos of the editorial “Urban awakening” (THT, January 22, Page 8), wild urban awakening will turn federal democratic republic of Nepal into an urban nightmare. Already classy Indian tourists, the types who visit Paris, Venice, Rome spending top dollars, are disappointed at Nepal’s scenic landscape transforming into their own towns like Motihari, where the famous futuristic satire author, George Orwell, was born. It won’t be surprising if the highly resilient Nepali traders end up building rows of houses on both sides of Nepali Nile — the Purba Paschim Highway — from Mechi to Mahakali in a matter of a decade or less. This is what happened in Budhanilkantha whose vast expanse of beauty has been turned into what you see in Indian art cinema. Tokyo has close to 30 million people but it is just like a city in the picture. Why is our urban development model so insane and a total mess? Be that as it may, destruction of farmlands and wild construction will sooner or later turn us into a country that will have to import grass for our cattle. Already the village yokels in my neighbourhood are dependent on my private water reserve and fodder for their needs. Not a very healthy recipe for peace and tranquility in the society. The federal, provincial and local governments might like to pay some attention to this problem. The local level governments must come out with a long-term plan on land use for housing, industrial and agricultural purposes. Manohar Shrestha, Kathmandu Chaotic state In spite of having a majority government with strong presence, the Government of West Bengal is failing repeatedly in maintaining law and order situation across the state. Violent intra- and inter-party political and communal riots, repeated incidents of rape and molestation of helpless women, irrespective of any age range, rise of various syndicates, middle men and local goons with strong political support, incidents of cross-border smuggling, repeated incidents of circulation of fake currencies, insurgency, illegal immigration, drugs, wildlife and human trafficking and, above all political violence, is slipping any future economic development of the state. The complete failure of the administration and police force is sending signals across India and overseas that WB is a politically dysfunctional and highly disturbed state; that has little chances of attracting any credible long-term investments for economic prosperity, peace and stability. The sorry state of educational institutions across the state, high rates of unemployment in both rural and urban areas, direct or indirect political involvement behind every single disruption and disturbances in the State is matter of serious concerns for WB residents. Unless the government takes serious steps in curbing these irregularities WB is heading steadily towards political and administrative chaos that is going to hurt the long-term future of the State negatively. Saikat Kumar Basu, Canada