Unwarranted challanes by Traffic cops

How ridiculous and unreasonable it sounds when an owner of a vehicle is challaned in Lalchowk unnecessarily. The challaned person has to go all the way to court to pay the penalty and get the documents released by appearing in the court of the Judicial Magistrate.
Are the laws ment for the conveniences of society or to harass and add to the woes of people? Can something be done to minimize the inconvenience to the travelling public?

unaid Qadiri, Habak

Stop ‘State terrorism’
In wake of Land grab crisis, the troopers barged into our houses, ransacked the household goods and thrashed the inmates. And when this could not suffice their anger they smashed wind screens of many vehicles and beat up pedestrians. The attitude of state forces in the recent agitation exposes the myths of Indian democracy. It was the right of people to raise voice against the transfer of land. People received bullets in return as Police opened fire to disperse an angry mob .In the ensuing pitched battle, several people sustained injuries and almost 5 people lost their life. Even elderly persons were not spared. The CRPF personnel unleashed terror especially during the evening prayers. While Inflicting atrocities on common Kashmiri is not new for the troops, the height of irony was when the mob attacked on the ambulances thereby causing lot of inconvenience to the patients. During such crisis protestors must demonstrate high tolerance so that innocent people do not become victims of public anger.

Ghulam Mustafa; Nazir Mufti
Newtheed, Harwan

The issue of ‘ragging’ in Professional Colleges
Ragging, the word which frightens every fresher of every Institute was banned by centre as well as state government. Despite that some seniors of engineering and medical institutes continue to indulge in this dirty game at a large scale.
Male as well as female freshers are being treated as puppets. They are bound to do what their seniors like. Freshers are not even allowed to have lunch. As soon as lunch break starts, seniors enter the room and start ragging. Who is at fault? Seniors I would say no, then who? It is only college administration which has to share the blame.
If the same atmosphere prevails in the college, the time is not far away when untoward incidents will happen inside and outside the college premises for which only college authorities or government will be blamed.
I would request the State Govt to issue strict orders to prevent harassment of freshers by seniors in every institute and if anybody is found indulging in this dirty game the same may be turned out of college to maintain the discipline in colleges which is very important. Otherwise, it is not possible for the new students to do their studies in the college.

Samia Nazir, Suhail Farooq, Hazratbal

No end to woes of Noor Bagh residents
In our area roads are badly in need of repair. Not only have potholes become rampant on all the main thoroughfares, road diggings by Government departments and telecom firms and their hastily done restoration job have only compounded the problem.
While constructions have been mushrooming, civic amenities in the area have not kept pace with the changes and have only deteriorated. Our area has no proper sewerage facility, no proper department to handle building plans, no road development plan and in fact, no master plans for its overall development. 
The traffic congestion and lack of maintenance of drains were issues that demanded immediate attention. Moreover, the inconsistency in garbage clearance, cattle menace and crowded market spaces were the issues we expected Municipal Corporation officials to address soon. We still find puddles of stagnant water, open water sumps and overhead tanks. Stagnant water and debris were breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Garbage was piled up in several parts of the area as there was no regular mechanism to ensure disposal. The residents raised the issue with concerned authorities from time to time but to no avail.

Sheikh Hamid, Noorbagh, Qamarwari

Water crisis
Residents of Taingpora expressed their dissatisfaction over the civic authority’s action in not ensuring adequate measures to avoid water woes. Locals have to face lot of difficulties as the area is without water for the past one week.

Mohd Rafiq, Taingpora

Government Apathy to the fore
Shelving projects half-a way is not new in Kashmir. In Sakidafar area, the lanes are dug up for laying drainage pipes and left just like that. Pedestrians have to face immense hardships while travelling on the road but the Government is in no mood to complete construction work. The entire road is dug up leaving very little space for passers-by. Two wheelers squeeze past the narrow space at great risk. Autos and four wheelers are forced to take a long detour to reach the main road. For the last two months they have become simply impassable thanks to the sewer line work being carried out by the concerned authorities. In the best of times the roads here are a driver's nightmare but now they have become treacherous. The authorities must speed up the work as people were faced with lot of inconvenience on account of the tardy pace of work.

Abdul Rashid, Sakidafar

Mental Health stigma
Mental health is the state of mind of an individual. This could affect the person during any age. As such, mental illness is feared by many people and, unfortunately, still carries a stigma. Because of this, many people hesitate to get help for fear of being looked down upon. The need of the hour is to understand the mental illness and initiate various steps to minimize the disease. Mental health especially in Kashmir needs greater care than physical well being.

Faisal Mir,Hyderpora