Save wetlands
The government ought to give priority to a law to protect all identified wetlands. Urban land use, which includes railway projects, has increased considerably, engulfing agricultural land, forests, and grasslands. As many wetlands have been lost or impaired by draining, dredging, filling, excavating, and building, the protection of wetlands by discouraging urban development activities is needed (Page 1, “Parandur airport site gets MoD clearance”, December 17). We consider everything as pervaded by a subtle divine presence, be it water bodies, fauna, flora or even planets. But scant attention is paid to protect them. As many sufferings have resulted from the conversion of water bodies, the Parandur project needs reconsideration
A.J. Rangarajan,
Chennai
Oil spill containment
The methods being used to collect or disperse oil that has contaminated a large part of north Chennai and the sea appear to be
time consuming.
An effective and economically feasible way is to use human hair mats. Human hair can be purchased from Tirupati and filled into meshed sacks. A kilogram of hair can absorb up to eight litres of oil. More time should not be lost in putting such a method into practice.
Geethanjali J.,
Chennai
In Navi Mumbai
It was a commendable performance by the Indian women’s team against England in the one-off Test in Navi Mumbai (‘Sport’ page, “Deepti’s heroics propel India to memorable win over England”, December 17).
Deepti Sharma deserves huge praise for her commanding performance.
S. Sankaranarayanan,
Chennai
₹10 notes and coins
Large quantities of ₹10 notes that are in circulation in Tiruchi, are in bad shape — heavily soiled and torn. Due to this, citizens and shopkeepers in the city are in a perpetual dilemma over which note to accept or decline. Added to this problem is the widespread ‘unofficial ban’ on ₹10 coins. The bank authorities need to be aware of this.
A. Venkatasubramanian,
Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu
