Sir — This refers to the report, “Killer storm stops India in its tracks” (May 14). Sadly, a good number of people were killed and several others injured across the country as rain, thunderstorms hit various States, throwing life out of gear and leaving behind a trail of destruction.
Trees are elixir of life-essential and are a must for good environment so that people live a healthy and hearty life. Simultaneously, there are laws to protect them but they need amendments so as to allow the removal of weak and dangerous trees, ones which are likely to fall easily on low speed of air-storm.
One way is to check their strength at regular intervals to see how much velocity-speed of air it can withstand. For the weak ones, necessary corrective actions must be taken. This way lives of human beings can be saved and loss of property can be minimised.
With weather almost becoming unpredictable, necessary long-term measures are needed. Changes to the Indian Forest Act too are essential.