Dear Sir,
This
is in response to the article, ‘Global pollution kills 9mn a year’ on
October 21 and the viewpoint, ‘Urgent global action to tackle killer air
pollution’ on October 22 in Gulf Times. Both of them were eye-openers.
Air pollution has already claimed the lives of several million people,
especially in Asia and Africa. The underdeveloped and developing nations
of these continents do not give much importance to air pollution
control, given that they struggle with their poor economy and population
growth. The average life span of the people in such countries is low as
compared to the developed nations.
The people too do not take air
pollution seriously and they are also partly responsible for its
consequences. For instance, even on the last Diwali day which fell on
October 18, smoke caused due to the bursting of fire crackers was
alarming in Delhi where it was banned by the court. The people of Delhi
have failed to take a cue from the alarming air pollution due to the
same reason last year. Further, vehicles which belch smoke are still in
use in the developing nations.
Owing to air pollution, many premature
deaths occur in poor nations. Adults too suffer from lung diseases.
China, which has a large number of industries, is also badly affected by
air pollution.
It is now imperative to increase efforts to tackle
this serious problem. Better late than never. Let the governments of
the affected nations as well as the people living there do all that they
can so that air pollution may be contained.
C Robinson, [email protected]
‘Baba Gurgur’ is Turkish, not Kurdish
Dear Sir,
With
reference to an article published in Gulf Times’s Business section on
October 19 under the heading “Fight for Iraq’s future targets
90-year-old Kirkuk oil field”, I would like to point out that the term
‘Baba Gurgur’ is not the name of the oldest well. It is actually the
name of the place where the flame shot out of the ground as a result of
ignition of escaped gas. It is a place where I personally used to visit
when I was a child.
The term ‘Baba Gurgur’ (Father of Fire) is a Turkish term and not a Kurdish term as was stated in the article.
This
information is a fact and well-documented by many travellers and
historians. I just thought it is appropriate to make this correction for
your readers.
Emad Turkman MBE, Doha
Stray cat menace on Airport Road
Dear Sir,
I
live on the Airport Road, opposite Al Mana Tower and I find that there
are far too many stray cats in this area. Most of the time there are
cats sleeping on my car and there are a lot of cat paw prints on it too.
I had the car washed recently but the very next morning I found
muddy paw prints all over the car. A very disappointing sight indeed.
Could the authorities concerned take some urgent action regarding
this matter. Also, if someone could suggest a place where I could make a
complaint about this.
(Name and e-mail ID provided)
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