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We deny the allegation that no power projects are coming up and PPAs with private projects are being refused by the state. POWER CRISIS IS TEMPORARY This refers to your editorial titled

‘State trips on power turmoil’ (October 17). We deny the allegation that no power projects are coming up and PPAs with private projects are being refused by the state. The present power

crisis in Maharashtra and in many other states has arisen out of a fuel crisis at the national level and is of a temporary nature. To combat the situation we have imposed load-shedding of

3-7 hours in urban areas and 11-13 hours in rural areas. We have also restarted weekly staggering of industries. All these measures are temporary and will be withdrawn as soon as the crisis

is over. The situation in Maharashtra has been steadily improving. We have set a target of making the state free of load-shedding by December 2012, and we are rapidly marching towards the

goal. This is evident from the fact that load-shedding in the state was almost withdrawn since January this year. The weekly staggering of industries had also been withdrawn since July.

These achievements are a result of planning and execution of ambitious projects. Had there been something rotten this would not have happened. —Chief General Manager (corporate

communications) Ram Dotonde (MahaDiscom), via email Allow sex determination tests for some It is good to ban sex determination tests as more and more couples prefer to have male children.

But an exception should be made in certain cases. Couples who have had two female children should be allowed to avail of this test. Only one hospital in the district should have this

facility. —Dr BR Bhatnagar, Mumbai RESERVE EXIT THROUGH FRONT GATE FOR CERTAIN SECTIONS I concur with Yogesh Pawar’s argument, where he raised a valid point in the column ‘Maximum Mumbai’

about how unreasonable it is to prevent certain sections of the people from leaving the auditorium or a multiplex from the front gate. We must raise our voices against the cinema authorities

who prevent senior citizens and differently-abled persons to leave from the front exit. No multiplex should refuse this to its patrons. —Mohan Siroya, Mumbai A TREMENDOUS LOSS TO THE SAUDIS

Saudi crown prince Sultan bin Abdelaziz Al Saud who passed away will always be remembered for his contributions in ensuring the progress and prosperity of the Kingdom. He emphasised on

special relations with the GCC countries, in particularly with its neighbour Yemen, as he always wanted peace and stability in the region. He dominated Saudi Defence Policy for almost half

century before he was made crown prince. He went on a defence spending spree which made the Kingdom one of the world’s biggest arms buyers. We are sure in the days to come Saudi Arabia will

take forward legacy of Prince Sultan. May God give strength and courage to the people of Saudi Arabia to bear this loss. —Ramesh G Jethwani, Bangalore Ban the sale of fire crackers on the

streets This is with reference to ‘Big bangs likely on Diwali as babus pass the buck’ appearing in _DNA _dated October 23. It is disturbing that there is no control over the sale of fire

crackers in the island city of Mumbai. The regulatory authorities like DOE & MPCB are still struggling to come to terms in controlling sale of the fire crackers. Pedestrians are

constantly risking their lives in the event of fire. Sale of fire crackers on the road side must be banned. DOE must ensure that the noise decibel level must be declared on the box

containing crackers. If the initiative taken by _DNA _is overlooked than the purpose is defeated.        —Deepak Chikramane, Mumbai TEAM ANNA WILL CRUMBLE SOON Team Anna appears to be in

tatters. Prashant Bhushan was assaulted in the Supreme Court for his controversial remark on Kashmir. It is now Kiran Bedi’s turn. Charges of corruption have been levelled against her. Now

Swami Agnivesh describes Anna’s campaign as ‘brahminvaad’ and also alleged that the funds donated were deposited in the trust run by Kejriwal. — J Akshay, Bangalore A WAR OF WORDS When

American foreign secretary Hillary Clinton met the Pakistan leaders it was neither the prime minister nor the president but it was the Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani, who was doing the

talking and flexing his muscles.  America is a giant compared to Pakistan therefore it is irresponsible on Kayani’s part to warn them. After seeing what has happened to Gaddafi in Libya, it

would be prudent on the part of Pakistani leaders to see the writing on the wall and take good care of their people before they rise in rebellion against them and hang them on the streets.

—KV Satyamurty, Mumbai All in the name of the game India’s triumph over England is commendable but it has raised several questions. If home conditions is the criteria to judge the abilities

of a team, then cricket is sure to lose some admirers. England prepared pitches which suited them and Indian batsmen hovered, unable to face their bowlers. One should not lose sight of the

fact that India fared well overseas, recently, under different captains, in conditions which were averse to them. On the other hand, it is an open secret that many players veil their

injuries to play for India because of the money associated with the game. A player like Harbhajan Singh, who can walk into any international team was omitted from the team for the one-dayers

in India. Whether he was ‘rested’ or ‘dropped’ is another matter. But, with the IPLs raining money on cricketers, administrators would do well to schedule the cricket itinerary in a way

which would benefit the Indian players. —Ganapathi Bhat, Mumbai