Green city, blue path
Sir — The road to Emerald Green City in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was paved with yellow bricks. But the road to an eco-friendly green city might be blue. Perhaps the first-ever blue road — a more robust and aesthetically appealing road made out of granite and plastic waste — in the country has been built in West Bengal. The plastic used to build and coat the 320-metre-long road in Burdwan will make it three times more heat resistant than ordinary granite roads. While roads made with recycled plastic can, at times, be more expensive to build, they are usually cost-effective in the long run owing to minimal upkeep costs. However, care must be taken to ensure that such roads are built with recycled plastic and that excess plastic is not produced for the purpose.
Divya Chaudhuri,East Burdwan
Constitutional crisis
Sir — On May 19, the president of India exercised her powers under Article 123 of the Constitution to promulgate the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023. This negates a May 11 Constitution bench judgment of the Supreme Court which had given the Delhi government “the power to legislate and administer meaningfully through professional civil service officers deputed to its departments.” When a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court declares/interprets a law, it is binding on all courts and authorities in India under Articles 141 and 144, respectively. The question that now arises is this: can Articles 141 and 144 be negated by Article 123 without a constitutional amendment?
A.K. Sen,Calcutta
Sir — Congress leaders in Punjab have apparently informed the party high command that they will neither support the Aam Aadmi Party in its fight against the ordinance on the posting and transfers of civil servants in the national capital nor meet the Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal. The Congress and the AAP clearly do not see eye to eye on any issue. This puts a dampener on the plans of a united Opposition fighting the 2024 Lok Sabha polls against the Bharatiya Janata Party.
C.K. Subramaniam,Mumbai
Sir — Stepping up pressure on the Congress, the general-secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Sitaram Yechury, has appealed to the party to support the AAP in the Rajya Sabha by defeating the bill replacing the ordinance on the posting and transfers of civil servants in the national capital. If the Grand Old Party’s stand on respecting constitutional values has any truth in it, it will not let partisan politics get in the way of voting against the bill.
Shreya Basu,Calcutta
Finishing strong
Sir — The Chennai Super Kings have won their fifth Indian Premier League trophy (“Gift of ‘one more season’”, May 30). CSK managed to defeat the previous year’s champions, Gujarat Titans, in a tense match that was curtailed owing to rain. CSK’s win will surely add another feather in Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s cap. This year’s IPL will also be remembered for stellar performances by cricketers like Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who have proven that the future of Indian cricket is secure.
Indranil Sanyal,Calcutta
Sir — Congratulations to the Chennai Super Kings for winning their fifth IPL title in a nail-biting final. Both the Gujarat Titans and CSK played well, but the latter outshone in the end. While Ravindra Jadeja’s back-to-back over boundary and boundary are worth remembering, it is Hardik Pandya’s hug to Mohit Sharma, who bowled the final over and ceded the match, that will remain etched in my memory forever. Even more heartening is the fact that M.S. Dhoni has said that he would like to play another season. This comes as a relief for all his fans who were expecting him to hang up his gloves.
Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee,Faridabad
Sir — The IPL final was originally scheduled on May 28 at the Narendra Modi Stadium. But it had to be postponed owing to heavy rain. The audience at the biggest stadium in India was drenched because of mismanagement and improper infrastructure. Such a faux pas at an event where several foreign commentators and journalists were present is embarrassing.
M.N. Gupta,Hooghly
Money woes
Sir — The Reserve Bank of India’s explanation regarding the introduction of the 2000 rupee note is inadequate (“‘Foolish’ in, ‘foolish’ out:Rs 2,000 note”, May 30). Since it was first circulated, people were wary of accepting it. In this context, the RBI must look into improving the quality of lower denomination currency notes which are prone to wear and tear. Currency notes of a better quality will save the RBI money.
D. Bhattacharyya,Calcutta
Sir — Several private banks in the country are allegedly refusing to adhere to the RBI’s assurance that no identity proof or request slip will be needed in order to exchange 2000 rupee notes. This has been causing inconvenience to people all over the country.
Arun Gupta,Calcutta
Harsh law
Sir — The Ugandan government has passed one of the world’s harshest laws against homosexuality. Homosexuality has not only been declared illegal but is also punishable with imprisonment and even death. This has legitimately raised concern among activists. The American president, Joe Biden, has condemned the law. Other countries should also pressure Uganda to repeal the law and secure the rights of the queer community in that country. There is nothing ‘unnatural’ about being homosexual.
Jang Bahadur Singh,Jamshedpur