Apropos 'Vande Bharath is just fine' (October 11), last week, issues on the Vande Bharath (VB) train hitting a herd of cattle enroute damaging the train made the headlines. Similarly, the other VB which was hitherto running between Delhi Varanasi had its wheels jammed.

Though the incidents occurred on different days in different environments, they gave the impression that the VB trains are not going to be successful.

To avoid the cattle menace, fencing the route on both the sides of the track or building underpasses at such places would help.

Jamming of wheels in one of the coaches leading to sudden stoppage needs to be investigated by the experts to prevent such occurrences in future. Railways should strategically plan to park spare VB or Duronto or Rajdhani trains in stations which are equidistant between the trains’ starting stations and destination for transhipment of passengers held up enroute.

RV Baskaran

Chennai

Beyond physical health 

This refers to the article “Mind-blowing problems at the workplace” (October 11).

According to a study by Deloitte India around 80 per cent of the Indian workforce reported mental health issues over the past year and depression-related symptoms are the most cited signs of this malaise.

While empathy should now be an integral part of organisational culture and behaviour of senior management, addressing causative factors (like of fear of loss of job, uneven workload, family issues affecting efficiency at work, team-related work stress and indifferent HR policies) will go long way in overcoming this new organisational threat.

YG Chouksey

Pune

Apropos ‘Mind-blowing problems at the workplace’, the days of a strict 9-5 work have long gone. In order to keep up with the competition and climb up the corporate ladder, one has to keep up long hours.

This is bound to have an effect on the mental health and therefore there are more cases of burn out and depression.

Many top notch firms have recognised these dangers and are working on them.

However the smaller firms cannot afford this and often employees are left to fend for themselves.

The skewed demand-supply position in the job market ensures that the poor employees have no choice but work according to the diktats of the pay masters.

Anthony Henriques

Mumbai

End this war

Following a slew of crippling military reversals, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a barrage of missile strikes targeting Ukrainian cities including its capital Kiev.

Undoubtedly, it has also raised the spectre of a prolonged military confrontation to the detriment of world peace, development and stability.

Further, Putin’s open threat to use nuclear weapons to defend the annexed territories of Ukraine cannot be simply brushed aside as a rhetoric stemming out of desperation.

War in Ukraine has not only sent energy prices soaring with Europe bearing the maximum brunt, but also heightened the prospect of an economic recession.

Given the havoc the war unleashed on Ukraine and beyond, both Ukraine and Russia have to imminently agree on a truce and affirm their faith in dialogue and diplomacy to dial down the military tensions between them.

M Jeyaram

Sholavandan (TN)

Published on October 11, 2022