'Bungle in the Jungle'

I have read with concern the article by Vinod Vyasulu (August 5). Starting with the Rajkumar's kidnapping, he has raised a host of issues. The failure of the successive governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to nab Veerappan all these years is being camouflaged. The demoralisation of their police force is writ large on the faces of the police officials appearing on the TV channels. Asking the centre for paramilitary forces will compound this failure. Vyasulu next deals with the demographic transformation of Bangalore. The Karnataka government turned a blind eye in the last two decades when greedy builders and developers went on an unbridled construction spree, painting imaginary scenes, first of exodus from Mumbai filmdom, then of NRI exodus from Hong Kong and later marketing Bangalore as Indian Silicon Valley. These developments have naturally brought businessmen and professionals from other states and it has to be taken in stride. Karnataka's demand for building a modern international airport at Bangalore will accelerate this trend. Shiv Sena, it may be recalled, began its activities in the late 1960s in Mumbai with similar thoughts.

Why should Vyasulu object to Star TV showing Tamil newspapers being burnt? Yesterday, The Times, London, carried a seven-column story captioned: 'Tamils fear bloodbath over star's kidnap'. Stephen Farrell, writing from Bangalore says: "The Bungle in the Jungle is a huge embarrassment to Bangalore, a city of six million, seeking to establish itself as the information technology capital of India...parts of the town centre were effectively hijacked for two days following the kidnap, with mobs stoning buses and attacking Tamil newspaper offices." Just because Veerappan happens to be a Tamil, attacking Tamilians in Karnataka is barking up the wrong tree. Vyasulu remembers nostalgically the halcyon days of Mysore. Speedy development of Uttara Kannada and integrating it with the faster growing Mysore region should be a priority for Karnataka.