Apropos Barun Roy’s article “A Thai hub for China” (July 28), the country’s emphasis on improving its rail links with south-east Asian nations is noteworthy. Reports have also appeared of China’s vision of having a rail service from Berlin to Beijing via Istanbul and Baghdad, and the country may very succeed with its plans. Even as China’s fast-paced progress in developing its transport infrastructure is worthy of appreciation, it is but natural for us to be disappointed with our tardy progress in this department. Our railways is languishing and starved of resources and the situation is even worse in highway projects. Rapid infrastructure development is an essential part of our foreign and strategic policies as well. When ministers talk of the Look East Policy, they should devote some time and attention to these aspects as well in which we need to go a long way before catching up with China.
S Subramanyan, Navi Mumbai
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