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| LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR |
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Private
airlines are on the ball
Inspite of the fact that the government has been dithering on the
issue of privatisation of the civil aviation sector in the country,
things are looking up. With the entry of private players there has
been a marked improvement in service. Air travel today is no longer
merely about a confirmed seat. The obvious competition that prevails
in domestic civil aviation has spurred airlines to be innovative
with their marketing strategies. The magic mantra seems to be freebies
and similar schemes to compliment value-added services.
Private airlines are actually competing with each other in offering
freebies to passengers. One of them has a certain ‘Fly n’ Smile’
scheme, insurance and holiday plans. Lucky passengers actually won
a Mercedes every week, or a holiday to an exotic locale. Others
had to satisfy themselves with a Maruti 800. All because they flew
that airline!
Aimed at creating value for customers and ensuring customer delight,
such schemes and offers have been met with an overwhelming response.
This in turn speaks of the changing trends in travel business. Domestic
airlines are doing more than just helping passengers reach their
desired destinations. If the these kind of initiatives are any indication,
continuous focus on unique schemes and exciting prizes are definitely
bound to make air travel an experience to look forward to, inspite
of rising passenger fares.
-- Shriya Bajaj, New Delhi
Hunger-free India
Apropos “Ten steps to give India freedom from hunger” by Joseph Vackayil
(May 22). Since Independence our politicians and scientists have been
talking of removing poverty and hunger from the nation but these problems
simply refuse to go.
The truth is that most of these schemes are far away from the ground
realities. In fact, they are populist in nature and mired in corruption.
It may not be incorrect to say that most of the scientists and planners
who formulate such schemes have never visited villages and go by the
data collected in course of various surveys. In a large number of
cases, these conclusions are based on sketchy and ‘cooked’ data.
The only way out of the present impasse, as stated in the article,
is “The focus of food assistance should shift from merely appeasing
hunger in the short term towards enabling development of human faculties”.
However, the problem with such a course is that those responsible
for implementing these schemes are not serious about their task.
-- V Sagar, New Delhi
Spinners’ menace
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha must understand that there is
no use of reopening the closed mills in Tamil Nadu amidst the malpractices
adopted by small spinners. Misuse of electricity vide power tapping
directly from the grid is on the increase. Many o these small spinners
dodge sales tax and excise duty payments. Invoice-less transactions
in the purchase of cotton and sale of yarn have become a routine affair.
Many a times they receive cheques in advance for the yarn but the
yarn is not dispatched by them.
When many more regular mills are on the verge of closure, making
thousands unemployed, it’s time the state and central governments
opened their eyes to check these small spinners. As things stand,
the regular mills cannot compete with the small spinners because
of their low cost of production.
-- K S Paramacharya, Chennai |
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© 2001: Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd. All
rights reserved throughout the world.
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