Being taken for a rideDear Sir,After reading the series of letters published in Gulf Times regarding overcharging by taxi drivers, I have started checking the meter every time - morning and afternoon - I catch a cab. It is a nuisance to tell nearly every driver to put the meter tariff to No 1. But often the driver gives the excuse that the meter is not working or it is being operated remotely from the office! There is a tape wound around some of the meters apparently to cover the tariff number.I travel from Al Sadd to Al Hilal and back daily but each time the taxi meter gives a different reading. It is frustrating to be cheated after a day’s hard work and arguing with the driver is too tiring.I urge all taxi operators to look into this, fix all meters and take action against any driver who breaks the company’s rule.NJ (Full name and e-mail address supplied)An excellent initiativeDear Sir,The report, “Drive against smoking” (Gulf Times, June 23), talks about a great initiative taken by authorities. One hopes that that it will be in full throttle in the coming days. The authorities are urged to keep a vigil on children’s park and play area too where some parents smoke. I have had the chance to talk to a number of parents in such situations whenever I take my kids to a play area.And some parents, to their credit, immediately extinguish their cigarettes while others question you or justify their action saying that it is an open space and there is no-smoking sign there without realising children are exposed to second hand smoke.Hisham Zubair ishu369@gmail.comLanguage directiveDear Sir, New Delhi’s recent directive to state authorities to use Hindi with the Central government for communication and in the social media has drawn flak from chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Jammu and Kashmir, etc. In India there are 22 recognised languages, including Hindi which is the national language. Nonetheless, English is used as the lingua franca, which means that it is a connecting language among the states. The new Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a penchant for Hindi. Perhaps, this is why he wants the state leaders to talk and write to him in Hindi. In the case of Tamil Nadu, Hindi is not even taught to pupils studying in government schools. India being a multi-linguistic and democratic nation, people there are entitled to use the language of their choice. C Robinson robin_son_ch@yahoo.co.in