Standing up to authorities 

This refers to the news report ‘Resilient elderly man floors PMC’ (PM, June 1). I felt good reading about Prabhakar Vaze’s victory over PMC’s non compliance. I am sure it was a tough task for him, but I salute his spirit in fighting back instead of giving up.

We have tools like RTI to bring the authorities to task, which is truly a blessing. I am sure there must be several others who are fighting similar battles. This report will bring some hope to them and if at all PMC takes it seriously, it should try to minimise such cases. If everyone uses his/her rights properly, even the most callous will do their duty well.

- Ankur Sinha

  Stop the hiss-teria! 

Apropos the news item ‘Hiss-teria at CP office over boa,’ I wish we would get over these silly superstitions that some animal or the other is ‘lucky.’ Even though we ‘worship’ cows all over the country, we don’t exactly look after them. Instead, they are allowed to roam freely all over the roads, endangering themselves as well as commuters.
 
Imagine selling a snake for Rs 50 lakh, or even worse paying that much for a snake because it might bring you luck. I’m glad at least in this case, the snake was handed over to the proper authorities despite the extent of drama.

- Gautam Adhikari

I was shocked to read about the snake in the Commissioner of Police’s office. Despite it being reported that it was non-venomous, it must have been a shock for the police officers to walk in on a 4-kilo, 3-ft reptile.

I am only glad it wasn’t dangerous, else there could have been a tragedy if any policemen were bitten. I think the police force needs to be much more careful about their offices and quarters. We don’t want any dangers befalling those who protect our law and order.

- Mukul D Natekar

  Chilling account 

I was shocked to read of the 11-year-old boy from Homs who was forced to watch his family being killed while trying to save himself by putting his brother’s blood on him, ‘I put my brother’s blood on me, and played dead’ (PM, June 1).

We’ve been reading about Syria for many months and have become almost complacent about seeing headlines like ‘300 killed in Homs.’ This account brought the chilling reality home to readers. Thank you for publishing it.

- Gagandeep Mishra

  Chai and chill 

I enjoyed reading ‘Happiness in a teacup’ (PM, June 1). Pune used to have a good number of Irani cafes, a lot of which have now shut down. I especially recall Cafe Sunrise in Deccan and their sekanjabin that I loved during the summers.

‘Chai’ sounds like a good place to chill out and I like that they serve things like Maggi and bun-maska instead of the usual, tired fare of overpriced sandwiches and doughnuts that one finds in regular cafes.

- Aishwarya K