MyVoice: Views of our readers 6th February 2021

Don't privatise Vizag Steel Plant

Vizag Steel Plant (owned by Rashtriya Ispat Nigam),a dream came true in 1971 earning crores of profit with crores of on-hand orders is going to be sold by the Central Government led by the BJP. In its bid to achieve sanction of the plant by the then GOI., AP witnessed a big agitation in 1969-70 with the slogan ' Visakha Ukku...Andhrula Hakku..., in which , we were also a part before our pre-University studies and so many people lost their lives in the agitation.

A Nava Ratna company owned by the GOI, Vizag Steel which qualifies for furtherance in every aspect for its performance for a long period is going to become a part of history because of the antagonistic and begrudging BJP government and it is beyond doubt that the BJP government with its PSU privatisation spree, is going forward to close some industries in AP. The recent merger of Andhra Bank in Union Bank is one such example of the backbiting disinvestment policy of the Centre.

One of the important reasons for its loss, is that the government has not allotted any captive mines to Vizag Steel Plant. Vizag Steel has been a feather in the cap of AP, since so many decades. On flimsy grounds, BJP top brass are depriving AP State of the jewels in its crown...one after the other.....

K Sai Prasanna, Tadepalligudem

BJP is guilty of misusing social media

I was amused to read the article "Social media: A new global pandemic/?" (THI 5 Feb). If BJP is so much concerned about social media pandemic, why not the party take the lead and get out of all social media forums? Why does the BJP IT cell keep a count of PM Modi's followers, likes etc in social media. In fact, if one goes into the use of social in political battle it was BJP which took a lead and then other political parties followed.

How can we forget selfie with Modi, Beti Bachao and so on. The fact of the matter is the Chief of BJP IT cell is quite famous for the way he uses and misuses it for propaganda. The IT Chief has been specially assigned for West Bengal elections to keep attacking the TMC government. The BJP government has not left any official portal where Modi's image is not seen. Even the Diksha portal which is used by lakhs of teachers from central and state government, the portal has Modi's image and every day the number of users are counted.

Since the same social media users are speaking against the government's wrong policies, it has come to bite them, the author was forced to call social media a pandemic. If social media is used sensibly to spread the message of unity, peace and harmony, it would go a long way to control social unrest. Anything in excess is always not good and social media is no exception.

N Nagarajan, Hyderabad

Establish US Consulate in Bengaluru

Bengaluru City and Karnataka state has witnessed a growing demand of visitors to the United States of America. A US visa applicant from Karnataka state is compelled to visit its Consulate office located only in Chennai or Hyderabad to obtain and apply for various types of visas especially B1 and B2 category visas. The move to travel to Chennai and Hyderabad every time causes an inconvenience resulting in administrative/logistical hardships to the visa applicants.

It should be otherwise noted that the facility to travel to almost all the other nations including Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Suriname, Brazil, France, Mexico, Finland, Ireland, Peru, Japan, UK, etc. exists through the presence of full-fledged Honorary Consulate offices conveniently located in Bengaluru for the benefit of Karnataka domicile visa applicants.

Further, it is suggested to establish a new full-fledged US Consulate at Bengaluru for the benefit of Karnataka's domicile residents. A new US consulate now at Bengaluru, Karnataka will largely benefit many business professionals, visitors, and students who otherwise face administrative/logistical hardships to obtain a visa from its existing consulates located in Chennai and Hyderabad. The suggested move for a new US consulate now at Bengaluru will otherwise help to expedite visa application requests quickly.

Varun Dambal, Bengaluru

Houses for migrant workers

The Surat Urban Development Authority has decided to provide nearly 400 houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) on rent to migrant workers. The Affordable Rental Housing Scheme (ARHC) has recently been approved by the Union Ministry of Urban Affairs and Housing. The ARHC is a sub-scheme of the PMAY announced last year, and Surat will be the first to be implementing it. The proposal to convert 396 houses built under the PMAY (urban). The labourers stay in rented premises sharing rooms with other labourers in the colonies to reduce the expenses of house rent. This is a welcome initiative. Hope that all State governments should construct more houses for the migrant workers. Such housing facilities may also help to prevent reverse migrations of workers.

Amit Singh Kushwaha, Satna