Letter to THE EDITOR: SLRC Grade III appointment

SLRC Grade III appointment

Through your esteemed daily, I would like to thank the Government of Assam for the transparent recruitment process in the SLRC Grade III examination.

I would further like to state that we are a group of five Assamese boys living in Bangalore, working for a private company. Fortunately, we all have qualified for the grade III and grade IV exams and are eager to take our appointment letters. But our company policy says that we have to serve a notice period of two months here before leaving the organization. So, we are requesting the government of Assam to keep the date of joining at least until the midweek of July so that we can join our state government jobs without any hassle.

A group of candidates.

Political humour

Our present-day politicians’ foot-in-the-mouth disease and their expletives and profanities, especially during election campaigns, are well known. But all these politicians fail to understand the power of humour and use it as their main weapon to excoriate their rivals. Humour was and is always an integral part of our political discourse, and it can be very effective in politics if used cleverly. Politicians of yesteryear used to crack jokes of great wit and wisdom. There was some intelligent humour impromptu by our great leaders of the past. Consider these: Reacting with undisguised cultural shock at his discovery of America after a trip there in 1949, Jawaharlal Nehru said, “One should never visit America for the first time.” His daughter Indira Gandhi once remarked, “Our private enterprise is usually more private than enterprising.” This apart, a fantastic rib-tickler about Mamata Banerjee: “Mamata hates CPM because they are left. Mamata hates the BJP because they are right. Mamata hates the Indian Army the most because they are left, right, left, right.”

Ranganathan Sivakumar,

(siva19kumar@gmail.com.)

Bleak future

GoFirst is not the first airline to go bankrupt, nor will it be the last one. It had a market share of 8.8 per cent in 2022. But excessive reliance on the US-based Pratt & Whitney (PW) engines that power its A320 Airbus Neo aircraft seems to have done the airline in. Although held highly in their initial days, the PW engines have increasingly gained notoriety for their technical flaws. Engine vibration and corrosion, fan blade separation during flight, and engine oil impurities are only a few, according to experts. The company is said to have failed to supply serviceable spare leased engines to the airline by the deadline of April 27, as agreed through the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAL).

As a result, leasing companies have taken back some planes from GoFirst. Owing a liability of Rs. 9000 crore, of which Rs. 3800 crore is meant for aircraft lessors and vendors, GoFirst’s initial interim moratorium request has not been accepted by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which makes its quest for recouping all the more difficult. It has grounded nearly 50 aircraft, has no money to buy spare parts, and the fuel companies may not agree to the “cash-carry” method anymore. So, a bleak future awaits it even as the Centre has assured “all help” to the beleaguered airline.

Until the NCLT has something to say in the insolvency case before it, the Centre cannot do much. Moreover, going by past examples like Kingfisher and Jet, GoFirst may be left to fend for itself. The owners of GoFirst are also expected to request that banks thrash out a settlement with creditors so that the latter agree to a reduced amount from the airline. However, thousands of passengers stand to be affected as all GoFirst flights are cancelled until May 12.

Dr Ganapathi Bhat,

(gbhat13@gmail.com.)

Saving birds from danger

Birds, the beautiful creatures of God, are facing a constant decline in their population due to various factors such as exposed electrical wires, mobile towers, and poor management by authorities. One of the primary reasons for the death of birds is the presence of exposed electrical wires. High-voltage wires that are not covered or have joints without protective measures can cause fatal injuries to birds.

Similarly, mobile towers can also pose a significant threat to birds flying at high altitudes, as they can collide with the high-voltage machinery near these towers. Developed countries such as Germany and the Netherlands have implemented underground electrical systems, significantly reducing the risk of harm to any living creature. We Indians must also take strict action against exposed wires, internet towers, and poor management by the authorities to protect the bird population. Therefore, let us collectively work towards safeguarding the beauty of nature and preserving the existence of these magnificent creatures.

Jubel D’Cruz,

(jubeldcruz@yahoo.com.)