Porn sites, youths
Sir: The internet and Smartphone apps have changed the concepts about privacy as it existed in Orissa and worldwide. Nowadays, it has become a fashion among the youth to take semi-nude selfies and similar videos of their own and post them on the web, unlike in the earlier times when this was unthinkable. Inventions of apps are made to educate, inform and entertain the public both individually and collectively, but unfortunately, alongside, the porn culture is on the ascendant. There are also situations in which, like Union minister Smriti Irani has noticed in a trial room in a shop in Goa the other day, video shoots are made in public places on the sly — and these put on porn web sites. Shops, hotel rooms, toilets etc are used for such purposes by perverted minds, compromising privacy of individuals in dangerous ways.
Narendra Raut, Shakti Automobiles, Semiliguda, KORAPUT
Parivar, fight
Sir: As is their wont, the quest for power has started coming to the fore between constituents of the so-called Janata Parivar. This time, prominently, it is a rift between the RJD & JD(U) for distribution of seats for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections. Out of the 243 seats, RJD of Lalu Prasad is demanding 145 seats. The party has seen its dismal performance in the last Lok Sabha elections. It got only 24 seats, while the JD (U) of Nitish Kumar got 117 seats. Both these parties depend on SC& ST, as also OBC votes. But, they are in trouble following Patna high court’s judgment quashing reservation in promotions which has come as a jolt to the Nitish Kumar government. Further, the recent unceremonious departure of Jiten Ram Manjhi, ex-CM, has added fuel to the fire. It is quite clear that the alliance will not last long.
Ratikanta Mahapatra, OFS, Courtpetasquare, BERHAMPUR
Teacher, fake degrees
Sir: As reports go, the Jammu and Kashmir high court has asked a schoolteacher to write an essay on cow and solve beginner’s mathematical questions in the courtroom, and the teacher failed in the test. The court then ordered that the teacher be debarred from employment as a teacher. It also ordered the J&K government to check the degrees of all the teachers appointed under the government’s Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) scheme. The teacher had an undergraduate degree from an unknown university. This case throws up startling questions and is a classic example of the clandestine system of sale and purchase of degrees existing in this country.
Dharmendra Ku Naik, Tarbha, SUBARNAPUR
