Last updated 00:30 IST | Thursday, April 26, 2001, New Delhi

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Letters To The Editor  If the dam cracks Strong action needed If the dam cracks This is with reference to the agitation in Tehri which was reported recently in your newspaper. The government has appointed a committee under HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi to look into the issues of seismology and safety of the dam as well as its impact on the purity of the Ganga. Several committees have already looked into various aspects of the dam. The S.K. Roy Committee and the Environmental Appraisal (Bhumla) Committee had recommended that the dam be abandoned. The Soviet engineers had raised serious questions in 1987 about its design and ability to withstand major quakes. The Hanumantha Rao Committee had clearly pointed out that the dam was being built in violation of the conditions that accompanied its environmental clearance. Even the expert group on safety insisted that two state-of-the-art analyses be carried out to make sure that the dam would withstand a major earthquake and that if the dam broke, the downstream impact was minimised. There is thus enough reason to stop the construction work straightaway. The Joshi committee should ensure that the work stops at least till it comes out with its report. This will be appropriate in the context of the dharna by the people in Tehri which has brought the work to a halt since March 30. Since April 22, the Tehri administration has resorted to arrests and intimidation to compel the people to give up their peaceful agitation. The Centre should realise that this dam can lead to massive devastation in the wake of a big earthquake. Tehri is located in a highly active seismic zone. We must learn a lesson from Bhuj. T.M. Mukundan, Chennai Strong action needed And this country of one billion only sends a ‘strong protest’ to the Bangladesh high commissioner. We may as well issue bangles to the defence establishment along with their rifles. China held the biggest superpower hostage for the loss of a Chinese pilot. We have lost 16 of our best. Their supreme sacrifice deserves better than a ‘strong protest’. Aseem Sharma, via e-mail II Protests, condemnations and feeling of hurt are not the way to show the country’s solidarity with the troops. The army has been betrayed too many times in the past by the bureaucrats and politicians. India should learn from countries like the US and China and strike back at the BDR battalions responsible for the murders. Sekhar Muddana, via e-mail III The savagery inflicted on the BSF soldiers reveal the barbaric side of the Bangladesh army whom we call our friends. The people of India believe in peace but to suffer injustice is also a in. It is time we rendered appropriate justice to the martyrs by giving a proper reply to the BDR’s savagery. Anu Shukla, Delhi India Gift House Reach out to your loved ones in India      Other Editorials... Editorials page The Big Idea Platform Off Track