Kalam For President ... Again!

With Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam's presidential term ending in July, we've seen a lot of names crop up as the next President of the soverign republic of India. With names such as Shivraj Patil, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Pranab Mukherjee in contention for the top spot, the race was expected to have a tight finish. But the entry of Pratibha Patil changed the equation and all the men mentioned above had to step aside and make way for the lady. This has left us with a choice of having either Dr. Kalam or Mrs. Pratibha Patil as our next President.

I think that Dr. Kalam, if given a chance, should take up the second term as the country's president. I think so because here is a man who has a vision and how many of our past president's (or politicans) have had one? Its also a lot easier to implement the vision when you are the President. By this, I do not mean that as a President you can force reforms or bully around to change things for better. But its just that I feel that when you are at the helm of affairs and when every change in the rule book is to be authorised by you, you are always at an advantage to get the big picture. And having this knowledge will always help a person to find a way out when he hits a roadblock. And with Dr. Kalam not affiliated to any political parties, he should not find himself in a dilemma of going against the interests of any political party.

So, go for it Dr. Kalam. A well educated and intelligent candidate with no political alliances is always a better choice then someone who has the support of a group of politicians just because the party bigwigs thought so!

P.S. I don't really know much about Mrs. Pratibha Patil and so I see no reason on why I should comment on her prospects as the President.

Kudos to PMC

Sometime around mid-July last year, there were parallels drawn between Pune's roads and the surface of the moon. There was a lot of noise from not only the rival political parties but also from some citizens' groups. And I think that the administration deserved every bit of this criticism. The condition of roads today suggests that the harsh words have struck the right chord with the people in-charge of maintaining the city's roads.

Driving around the city today, you will come across a lot of places wherein the roads have been repaired or are under various stages of construction. Some of these have been completed under record time. The most encouraging aspect of this has been the quality of the work done. The roads definitely look as if they would be able to bear the onslaught of the monsoon this year. The fact that the contractor concerned is ensuring that the roads are marked out properly shows that he is paying attention to detail. I am also impressed by the efforts taken by the contractor to limit the inconvenience caused (at least on the roads I frequent) to people while the work is underway.

I know that there are still a few areas where the roads are riddled with potholes and also that the construction work has caused inconvenience to some people, but I still think that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has taken a step in the right direction and they deserve a pat on their back for the efforts put into this project! Keep it up guys!!