Hasty highway works
The national highways are being expanded in a rush and are seeing a spate of accidents. In the last week alone, the NH44 highway connecting Hosur and Bengaluru saw the collapse of one side of the road near Attibele, and then there was a gas tanker overturning on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway near the mouth of a tunnel near Bor Ghat, resulting in lakhs of people being stranded on both sides. The gas tanker was supposedly speeding and, because of the wrong sloping of the road, it flipped over. This calls into question the design of the roads. Instances of similar problems have also been seen in Goa, where faulty design has resulted in multiple accidents at almost the same place. Again in Goa, the reinforcement of hillsides on the highway near the Maharashtra border was done in a slipshod manner, with landslides occurring many times. All this is presumably because of the hurry-burry in trying to build new highways and expand existing ones.
S Kamat, Mysore
Revival of salt pans
Farmers engaged in traditional saltpan cultivation will reportedly receive Rs 1 lakh each as financial assistance under the Salt Pan Conservation, Support and Revival Scheme of the state government. While this move is welcome, it is only a small step towards the much-needed support for saltpan farmers. Salt pans, once an integral part of the state’s economy, are facing severe decline, and the livelihoods of many saltpan farmers are under threat. In recent years, the profession has experienced a sharp downfall, mainly due to unregulated land development, encroachment on salt pan areas, and lack of support for the industry. In addition, the younger generation is no longer attracted to salt farming due to low returns, harsh working conditions, and the lack of modern technology in the process. A crucial step in supporting salt pan farmers is the establishment of a minimum support price (MSP) for salt to ensure that farmers are paid a fair price for their produce. Salt produced in the salt pans should be made available in government outlets and malls. Other efforts should include building modernised salt pans, introducing eco-friendly technologies, and facilitating the storage and transport of salt. Introduction of educational programmes on salt farming and offering subsidies or loans for young entrepreneurs to invest in salt farming can go a long way. The introduction of new technologies like solar-powered salt pans could make the profession more attractive to tech-savvy youngsters. It is time for Goa to come together, support its salt pan farmers, and bring this vital industry back to life.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Regulating banks
The RBI’s Master Direction on Internal Ombudsman, 2025 is the latest set of rules on how the Internal Ombudsman (IO) system should work in regulated entities. It brings together earlier instructions into one common framework and replaces entity-specific circulars, including the NBFC circular issued on November 15, 2021. In simple terms, the RBI has taken what existed earlier and put it into one consolidated rulebook, applicable across regulated entities. The Direction applies to RBI-regulated entities as specified in the document. The Internal Ombudsman requirements already existed, but they were issued through separate, sector-specific instructions, such as the NBFC circular dated 15 November 2021. The 2025 Master Direction brings these separate instructions together into a single, consolidated framework, ensuring uniformity in how the Internal Ombudsman system is implemented and governed. If a complaint is fully or partly rejected, it must go to the Internal Ombudsman. No such complaint can be closed without IO review. This ensures that a customer complaint is not rejected at the operational level without a senior, independent review.
Jayanthy Subramaniam, Mumbai
On PM’s skipping of LS
It’s unbelievable that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday said he had concrete information that many Congress MPs could carry out an “unexpected act” by reaching the spot where Prime Minister Narendra Modi sits and therefore asked him not to come to the lower House to deliver his address, and, as a good boy, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi obeyed the Speaker’s order and did not attend the Lok Sabha. People want to know: Does PM Modi report to Speaker Birla on so-called grave issues, or does the Speaker go out of the way to save the PM’s face? It’s a pity that the Speaker of the world’s largest democratic country failed in his duty to ensure Parliament is a safe place to work. Had Congress been in power, they would have used parliamentary security to throw out the disrupting MPs without hesitation. It is time the Speaker shows some spine and uses the power he has been given. Om Birla should understand that power is not given for ornamental sake but to be used when necessary, in the interest of the country and democracy, and further, if he doesn’t use it
Bidyut K Chatterjee, Faridabad
India hot favourites
Cricket’s marquee tournament, the T20 World Cup, gets underway on Saturday and, rest assured, high-octane entertainment is guaranteed for fans across the globe for 30 days, culminating in the final on March 8. India are the overwhelming favourites to defend the title; the Suryakumar Yadav–led team should be high on energy and spirits, having won nine consecutive bilateral series prior to the mega event. On paper, the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Surya, Tilak Verma and Hardik Pandya are any international team’s dream top order. When there are Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav to add to the mighty batting, and players like Shivam Dube to chip in when needed, there is no prize for guessing the strongest among the 20 teams on display. Wherewithal to stand up to pressure, familiarity with playing in the subcontinent, and crowd support are all pluses.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
