Lessons from lockdown

There is no denying that every negative event contains within it the seeds of an equal or greater benefit. With enough negatives discussed, let’s look at the positive impact of the current situation arising due to Covid-19. The lockdown has compelled us to be attentive to cleanliness, hygiene, fitness, self-care and has further made us realise the uncertainty of life. The erratic and self-centred pattern of life followed by us will hopefully change and we will enter into a new world of love, care, happiness and sustainable growth.

Avineet Singh Chawla, Patiala

SC intervention

Reference to the editorial ‘Mother of Muzaffarpur’; the incident has shaken the conscience of all thinking persons. Once dead, there is not much left to retrieve. Yet, these sufferings could be avoided, or at least minimised with timely planning and inputs, if the government so wishes. Proper transport facility should have been arranged for them in advance. A proper handling of the situation was required. It has now taken the SC to stop the dithering by the states.

BM Singh, Amritsar

Succour for migrants

The decision of the Supreme Court on the states providing free food and shelter to the stranded migrant workers should have come much earlier. Had the decision been taken timely, lakhs of migrant workers would not have faced starvation. Migrant workers have had to face a lot of problems due to lack of money, food and shelter in the wake of the pandemic.

Abhilasha Gupta, Mohali

Defence procurement

Apropos of ‘New policy to constraint defence planning’ (May 29); the armed forces need an overhaul. The increase in FDI in the defence sector is a leap, but only time will tell about its result. Indigenisation of defence equipment may seem to be a grandiose idea, but a lot of focus is needed to match the international standards. With China and Pakistan exaggerating things up, India needs to shore up its defence with cutting-edge technology. Pipelined purchases must be a priority along with heavy investment in local defence industry.

Ishan Chauhan, Jalandhar Cantt

Locust attacks

Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh are facing locust attacks. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the locust infestation has spread over a wide area of western and central India. Locusts can destroy crops in a blink of an eye. With crops facing the danger of getting damaged, the states will have to guard against agricultural bounty being ravaged by pests.

Mamun Hasan, by mail

Board exams

Covid-19 has caused uncertainty. Class XII exams of the PSEB are held up because of the lockdown. The CBSE has issued a datesheet for the pending exams, but students are awaiting an official response. It’s time for the board to take into account the plight of the students and announce the exam schedule.

JS Humsafar, Maloudh

Debate on DBT

Refer to the editorial ‘DBT in power sector’; instead of free power, discussions were on to adopt direct benefit transfer for power subsidy to the farmers. But this didn’t happen because the successive governments found it difficult to change the prevailing system apprehending opposition. DBT is a step in bringing about transparency in the disbursal of subsidies. It ensures that the benefit reaches the real end beneficiary, obviating any leakage in the way. The DBT system can put an end to the existing method of giving in advance, a lump sum to the power supplier, PSPCL, for the power consumed by tube wells in the state, and the farmers pay no bill. But the PSPCL apprehends that after DBT application, some farmers may not pay electricity bills. On the other hand, farmers are likely to doubt the government’s intentions, apprehending the end of free power for agricultural use. There will be challenges for Punjab as application of subsidy transfer system won’t be easy. Informed debate is needed on this.

Lal Singh, Amritsar

China’s stance

The Chinese state media has accused US President Trump of driving a wedge between China and India. This is in response to the mediation offer by Trump in the light of the LAC stand-off. Even in J&K, the US and some other countries offered to mediate but it was turned down by India as the matter is bilateral. In this case also, India’s stand can be no different. What is astonishing is Beijing’s view. China has always regarded India as its bête noire and has obstructed India from getting a permanent UNSC membership.

KV Seetharamaiah, by mail

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