Hi kids,

As promised, the problems sent by you all will be forwarded to the authorities concerned. It is truly sad to note how many basic problems suffered on a daily basis are taking away so much from the quality of our lives.
Even outside my home, the street lights do not work, partly because they are rarely changed, and when they are, little boys come and throw stones at them. There are frequent ‘jaagrans’ relayed over the loudspeaker from a religious organisation next door, through the night and day, with little concern for the elderly, students and ill people, who desperately need their sleep. It is important for civic society to be concerned about such things. Children, in particular, should be aware and develop good habits from the start, so that they don’t grow up to become a nuisance for others.
Next week’s theme is Child Labour. Write in what you think about it.
Here’s also wishing you all a Happy Dussehra. Try to be as brave, skilled and strong as Ram.
See ya, Aastha

All roads lead to……Pot holes!!

Col J Sindhwani (Retd)
Circular road, Dehradun.

Now a day’s all prominent places are being renamed. ‘Madras’ has become ‘Chennai’, ‘Bombay’--Mumbai and Delhi’s Cannaught place--‘Rajiv Chawk’. Let’s rename ‘Dalanwala’ as ‘Khaddawala’.
I have been staying in Dalanwala for many decades, the slow and steady deterioration of roads, now full of potholes or ‘Khadda’s’ is alarming. Considered as one of the prominent residential area of the town, it boasts of world class and well known schools like ‘Welham Girls’.
Parents of students studying there come to meet their daughters from all over the world, only to be greeted by pathetic roads full of bumps and grind, they carry back a lousy impression of civic amenities of a town which is not only capital of uttarakhand but also known for its ‘crème-de-la-crème’ people, ironically the hoardings at major roads leading to Doon valley claim-‘welcome to Dev Bhumi’ and ‘Atithi-devo-Bhawa’, how paradoxical and contradictory.
With roads literally reduced to rubble, the plight and exasperation of motorists and students who generally commute by cycles and two wheelers is beyond words. Driving is an essential part of our life now. Our vehicles are responsible for transporting us to our daily destinations, be it work, the grocery store, or our friends place. Regardless of what method of transportation you choose, you are inevitably going to find yourself on a road. It is therefore important to ensure passenger safety and reliability when on roads.
Dalanwala is true example of what tax paying public is getting from authorities, I request them to at least fill up the potholes this will save the students as well as seniors from uncalled for physical mishaps and regular visits to the mechanic. Oh how I long for my ‘Green, smooth Dalanwala of gone by years!

Problem of Garbage in Dehradun

Sidharth Sharma,
(VII), SJA

Problem of garbage is already all over India. And now also in our Green Doon which is now not Green but Dirty Doon. I live at 33 Park Road and outside my house the sweepers clean the roads in the morning and till the end of the day, the road is again full of garbage. One day I saw that half of the road was covered with garbage and offensive smell all over the area. And after 17 hours, the garbage was removed at last. But still the odour was there for a day. My sister and I clicked many photos and sent them to newspapers and authorities but no actions were taken.
We should save the Green Doon from becoming Dirty Doon. So let’s prevent throwing garbage on the roads. We should throw garbage in dustbins. I had my birthday on the 17th of September so I yearn for a gift from all of you and that is: You people should stop throwing garbage on the streets. In return, you will get a prize of being a good citizen of India and of Dehradun.

Bad Roads

By Pratiksha Thapli & Akash Joshi (V)
John Martyn Memorial School

Not only in villages, but all over India the Government needs to repair roads. In our village, as long as I remember (and I am now 10 years old) the roads have always been broken and filled with pot-holes. We have many elderly people and many small children who have injured themselves because of these bad roads. Even our vehicles, our scooters, our cycles can all break because of these roads.

My view of the problems faced by Doon…!!

By Rohan Kapoor,(VI-D)
St. Joseph’s Academy

Dehra Dun is a town facing a lot of societal problems. Just see the area of Dalanwala. Such nice houses and famous schools are there. But the roads there are in such a pathetic condition. I live at Rajpur Road near the diversion. It is the main highway leading to Mussoorie. It is such a crowded road. Even outside my house I see so many labour class people standing every morning. By and by as time passes a vegetable man and a peanut man come and put there thelas just outside our neighbour’s house.
My father tells me that when he used to be a young child, they were free to roam about on the streets.
But these days children are not allowed by their parents to even go in the colony parks as many incidents have taken place in recent days. There is so much traffic on the roads which moves in such a great speed. All over Doon, there are big dustbins and it is clearly written on them, "USE ME AND KEEP THE CITY CLEAN AND GREEN!" But I fail to understand why people throw garbage on the road.
We see so many cows relaxing in the middle of the road. They surely act as a divider or speed breakers. A few days back I saw a dog crossing the road and a car was coming. The lazy dog sat on the road and started licking a polythene thrown on the road. It was not the dog’s fault, but it was our fault. Someone else might have thrown that polythene on the road.
Doon is known for its greenery, but these days we find many trees being cut in the town. For instance, trees at the backside of St. Joseph’s Academy and near the NIVH Blind School are being cut. This is also causing a rise in the temperature. These were my views about the problems faced by the people of Dehra Dun!

Doon Civic Problems

By Yashaswani Bhantnagar,(IV)
Ann Mary School

Although Dehradun is peaceful, green and clean city but it seems that some people do not bother about it. There are many people who throw the garbage on the roads or outside their house they burn it, and they even burn the polythene bags. People cut down trees to make more and more houses.
People even cut down their garden trees to make small rooms for rent. I really miss the beautiful surroundings in Ballupur, where I am staying. The condition of stray animals also bothers me. They often bite people and because of that they are being badly hit, so there should be home for the stray animals too. I am also a resident of Dehradun and I want to help but do not know whom to contact. Although I try to keep the environment clean and pollution free by not using polythene bags.
I and my brother also discourage our mother and others for not using polythne bags.

Amenities for the disabled

By Rahul Das, (V)
John Martyn memorial School

1. The government should make sure all roads are properly repaired and all man-holes are covered, so that no visually disabled person falls in.
2. There should be ramps on all buses, trains and other public transport so that the physically disabled find it easier to get in or out.
3. At big traffic crossings the police should be instructed to help the disabled cross the roads.
4. In government schools, colleges, railway platforms there should be skid-free tiles laid out in a straight line, on which the disabled can walk without fear of falling.