Letter.

Letter Published inThe National UAE on17Nov 23 What the tunnel collapse in the Indian state of Uttarakhand tells Us I write in reference to Taniya Dutta's article Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Rescuers insert steel pipes to pull out trapped workers (November 14): with about 40 lives on the line at the time of writing, this is obviously a very distressing story. I hope and pray that the rescuers are successful in using the technology that is being made available to them to carry out an incredibly onerous but honourable task. It is also important to point out that, while the state of Uttarakhand is beautiful and is culturally, religiously and strategically important to India, it is also prone to natural disasters. Environmental degradation, partly an outcome of over-construction, is making matters worse for the local populations. Authorities need to ensure that infrastructure and real estate development in the state is extremely well regulated. K Ragavan, Bengaluru, India