Economy crucial, too

The weekend lockdown imposed in certain states does not seem to have been thought through. It will dent revenue which is an equally serious matter affecting the economy. It would be much better if the shopkeepers can make arrangements for home deliveries in towns and bulk deliveries to village shops. The Centre has already issued instructions to 10 states to reduce the fatality rate to 1 per cent, but it has to be cautious about data fudging, in view of inadequate healthcare facilities. In the prevailing environment, the Centre and state governments need to strike a balance between trade and healthcare.

COL KULDIP S GREWAL (RETD), PATIALA

Life must go on

Apropos of the editorial ‘Problem with lockdown’ (Aug 28), the Supreme Court, while disposing of writ petitions of students, had expressed the same views and said that life cannot be made a bondage of the circumstances. India is in the deep throes of the pandemic. People have to make their own way for their survival and cannot expect too much from the government. In this respect, the SC had to make adverse comments against the government for not taking a decision on the charging of interest and transferring the responsibility to the RBI. With Covid norms in place, economic activities should go on without fail.

Yash Pal Ralhan, Jalandhar

Unsatisfactory solution

Reference to ‘Problem with lockdown’, shutdown is not a sensible solution, keeping in view the dwindling economy. Difficulties of the sufferers cannot be overlooked in the name of battling against corona. Instead, precautions should be the primary focus. Shutdown is the only measure the government has resorted to, ignoring the outcomes and reasonable steps. Reforming the strategy is vital.

SAMANTHA GARG, by mail

Media trial

The endless speculations and character vilification of Rhea Chakraborty by a large section of the media before she has been pronounced guilty by the court is problematic on various counts. The leaked chats between her and various people being flashed on news channels are a violation of the right to privacy. It is also shameful that the entire episode has been hijacked by politicians in view of the ensuing Bihar elections. The aforementioned circumstances call for court-monitored, independent and time-bound investigation into the whole saga to ascertain the truth. In the meantime, the media must stop playing the role of the jury-cum-investigating agency and shift its focus to more vital issues affecting the country.

Shivam Jain, Bathinda

Parshuram politics

The SP wants to build a statue of Parshuram in UP, the BSP an even bigger one, and the Congress wants Parshuram Jayanti restored as a state holiday. Mayawati once said, ‘We should not forget that we’re a secular country.’ Akhilesh Yadav has spoken of fighting a ‘communal BJP’. Now, they and the Congress, which also calls itself secular, are promising statues of Parshuram with an eye on electoral gains. What moral right do any of these parties have to claim that they are fighting for secularism?

Arushi Sharma, Bilaspur

Karamyogi Kairon

‘Kurukshetra’s debt to Kairon’ (Aug 28) reflects the farsightedness of Kairon. His role in appointing Dr Tulsi Dass as the first director of the PGI and bringing Dr AC Joshi as PU VC speaks of his concern in the field of education. The fact that to check copying, he personally inspected exam centres of the university, speaks of his commitment. Not only Kurukshetra, the whole of joint Punjab owes a lot to this karamyogi.

VK Anand, by mail

Legends in their own right

Dharam Pal, a teacher at Government School in Gill village, Ludhiana, used to prepare students of class IV for an exam conducted by the Punjab education department. When Kairon came to know that most successful students were coached by Dharam Pal, he visited his school to honour him and embraced him. After retirement, Dharam Pal joined Arya Higher Secondary School, Ludhiana. I had the honour of clearing that examination under his guidance in 1962, when 13 students of our school were successful against a total of 19 for the whole district of Ludhiana. He would not allow us to leave even on Diwali, leave alone Sundays. A single exception was the day Nehru visited Ludhiana, when he allowed the students to leave earlier on Sunday to have a glimpse of Nehru.

Upendra Sharma, by mail

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