Sir — The lotus, the Bharatiya Janata Party insists, will bloom in several corners of Bengal after May 23. Indeed, BJP flags can be spotted in places that were considered to be impregnable fortresses of, first, the Left, and then the Trinamul Congress. But Didi and her party may have a different explanation for the phenomenon. The sight of the flags of rival parties fluttering in the hot breeze is a sign of democracy being in the pink of health in Bengal.

Barun Batyabal,
Calcutta

Great hazard

Sir — Travelling by bus in Calcutta has turned into a hazard, as a recent tragic incident involving a mother of two showed (“Mother of two falls off bus, dies”, May 1). The woman slipped and fell on the road face down while she was alighting from a minibus. The steepness of the steps in buses contribute greatly to poor balance and injury, particularly for old and infirm people. Buses with such grave defects should not be allowed to ply. This is a serious flaw in our public transportation system, and is unheard of in the developed countries of Europe and in the United States of America.

S.K. Som,
Calcutta

Sir — It was appalling to read about the young mother who lost her life after slipping while getting off a bus. Her children were still inside the vehicle when the mishap occurred. This incident should act as an eye-opener for those who operate public bus services. Often, these buses allow hardly enough time for passengers to alight safely.

As a regular commuter, I have faced similar problems. Once I almost had a potentially fatal fall on account of the impatience of the bus driver. Speeding drivers care little about the lives of the people they ferry. They should be more cautious. Unfortunately, they are adept at violating traffic rules. The lack of maintenance and overuse also make the stairs of buses slippery. These shortcomings of public bus services should be taken note of immediately.

Ankita Bakshi,

Calcutta

Real benefits

Sir — The results of my Central Board of Secondary Education examinations were declared recently, and one of the reasons I was able to score satisfactory marks in English was because I read The Telegraph. The habit of reading newspapers is dying out. Live news feeds are easily available now, but even though they offer the latest updates regarding current events at any time of the day, they fail to provide the many benefits of reading an actual paper. The latter instils discipline and helps increase one’s vocabulary. We not only get news but also gain significant amounts of general knowledge, which is now an essential requirement for almost every job. A good newspaper should cover all probable areas of interest, and The Telegraph does that. It is uncompromising in its portrayal of our leaders, unfailing in delivering important news, and consistently captures the attention of its readers.

Purna Dutta,
Calcutta