Fascinating story on Azadpur Mandi
Fascinating story on Azadpur Mandi
Re Rahul Chandran’s story on Azadpur Mandi, “Ripe for change", Mint, 29 September. I congratulate Mint for taking it as the main story and highlighting its plight. It was time somebody wrote on it. We are still an agrarian economy where mandis play an important role. Mint belongs to a class of its own and has often chosen stories reflecting on the entire business class (including the one on Ajanta Quartz) that have been ignored by other business dailies. If we modernize markets such as Delhi’s Chawri Bazaar/Khaori Baoli and likewise in other cities, millions of jobs will be created. I request you to cover the road transport sector, which too has been ignored and suffers from lack of modernization.
- Gurdeep Singh
The euphoria on Team India winning the T20 World Cup has been unprecedented and so is the cash bonanza for the players. BCCI reaction to the formation of ICL has been to bestow largesse on the players, and winning the World Cup in the T20 entertainment cricket is a godsend occasion for BCCI to convey to the players that they would be better off with BCCI. With BCCI being so rich and magnanimous, there is hardly any future for ICL.
Players need encouragement, but whether the cash prizes and gifts are commensurate with the occasion or not is a debatable matter.
But the display of such benevolence conveys a wrong message to other field and team sports such as hockey, football, kabaddi, etc. Players in these sports can also win laurels if they have been provided facilities to play and grow and later to participate in national and international meets. Their performance-based reward should match those given to cricketers.
This needs a proactive attitude from the various sports associations and federations. These bodies should, in a professional manner, take the responsibility to promote their respective sport, encourage players, seek sponsorships and arrange adequate publicity for the game and for the players.
Unfortunately, the same office-bearers continue to be associated with these bodies, even though they make no meaningful contribution.
Each association should, in fact, have a qualified, experienced and paid chief executive to look after its affairs and to evolve strategies for the growth of the game. There should also be a mechanism to assess the performance of these sports bodies.
Funds are either not available or remain unutilized where allocations have been made. Corporate sponsorship is hardly available nor is there adequate television coverage. This needs to change.
BCCI can also pass on some of its riches for the development of other sports. The recent comment by the national hockey coach that the authorities are ignoring hockey players even though they won the Asia cup is a timely eye-opener. It is high time management of sports other than cricket was streamlined and put on sound and healthy footing.
-O.P. Gupta
Mint’s series of stories on Sethusamudram was well researched.
Both India and Sri Lanka should jointly construct a road bridge between the two countries. This would be a boon for both, and trade would increase manifold. Both the UK and France have a rail link on the ocean bed joining them.
Instead of the dredging operations, there should be a road link between India and Sri Lanka.
- M.K. Jain
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