Time to honour Pydimarri Subbarao

This August 13 marks the 37th death anniversary of Pydimarri Venkata Subbarao, the author of the national pledge “India is my motherland.” While many are aware of those who penned our national anthem and song, Rao remains an unsung hero. Rao’s pledge, written in 1962, emphasizes unity in diversity, reflecting India’s motto. It is recited in schools across the country since the 1965 Republic Day. Recently, his name was included in textbooks, a significant step towards acknowledging his role. As India celebrates 75 years of our constitution, it’s fitting to honour Rao’s contribution to our national identity as a befitting salutation to the great man and his profound legacy.

M. Ram Pradeep, Tiruvuru

(August 13-The death anniversary of Pydimarri Venkata Subbarao )

A welcome transformative step

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inauguration of Bangalore’s Yellow Line marks a transformative step towards sustainable urban mobility. This initiative not only enhances connectivity but also symbolises progress and innovation, inspiring cities across India to embrace modern infrastructure for a brighter future.

T S Karthik, Chennai-10

Iconic Sangeet theatre now a hospital

After a long gap, the iconic Sangeet theatre, which was demolished for conversion into a multiplex-cum-mall, has now been turned into a multispecialty hospital in a vicinity where there are already several hospitals. It seems that the time when people used to spend more hours on leisure and entertainment has now been replaced by more time spent in hospitals, which have become notorious for making people wait endlessly despite paying a fortune to meet doctors or get treatment, as if they were providing free service. I don’t feel like writing an obituary for Sangeet theatre, where we once enjoyed classics, mostly from Hollywood. I still remember watching the night show of ‘Gandhi’ with a bunch of colleagues on a Saturday, on a ticket bought in black. After coming out, I felt guilty for watching a great man’s story in a wrongful way. Nevertheless, the present-day tatkal service feels the same.

N Nagarajan, Hyderabad

Use AI applications only to assist surgeons

This has reference to the article on ‘Where AI meets a mother’s touch ‘. Over decades, medical care was provided by qualified medical professionals. Such a system cannot be replaced by Artificial Intelligence (AI). In India, AI applications are in an experimental stage. Medical professionals need to decide whether AI provides better service than their medical staff. They can utilize AI services on an experiment basis, including in a couple of premier hospitals. Doctors in operation theatres need to instruct the AI unit to arrange blood or glucose bottles. Then, it should follow all the instructions given by doctors, including bringing the stretcher closer to the bed of the patient and removing bed sheets after the operation. When the AI succeeds in accomplishing the task to the doctors’ satisfaction, similar services can be tried in other medical centres. Most importantly, this should not trouble the serving employees.

G Murali Mohan Rao, Secunderabad-11

Govt should clear pending bills of all vendors

This is to express our dismay at the Telangana government’s delayed payments to vendors across segments. Among the worst hit are advertising agencies, including the INS accredited firms, and publications, which are subject to harrowing times due to non-clearance of long pending bills. In normal circumstances, bills of advertising agencies are cleared within a maximum of three months from the date of the ad’s insertion. Now, the same are being delayed by years. Ad agency promoters are finding it tough to raise funds every month to pay salaries to their staff and other overhead charges. We all request the Chief Minister to ensure speedy release of funds to DIPR so that we can be saved from the tortuous nightmare.

Vivek, Secunderabad