If French President De Gaulle were alive he would have thrown Britain out of the EU lock, stock and barrel long back. Britain is fooling the EU countries by delaying its exit. It wants the benefits of EU membership even while opting out the Union. Typical British double standards.

Lakshman Sundar

Navi Mumbai

Save water

This refers to ‘Can India provide water for all by 2030’ (March 22). The present situation of water availability is quite alarming and if this is allowed to continue unchecked, per capita water availability in another 20 years would be unimaginable. The responsibility to change this situation lies with both government and its citizens. The government, on its part, must create awareness of the situation by using print, electronic and social media. It must be made a mission to make people aware of the grave situation ahead of us which will affect the future generations. Secondly, State governments must find methods to save rainwater on a permanent basis instead of depending on short-term solutions at the time of drought. Large amount of money spent during crisis goes waste after each year. Instead, prepare tanks or ponds at the community level for long-lasting availability of water.

Another important mission for the people is to learn to use water more responsibly. More than two-thirds of the water we use can be saved. Keeping the taps open with restricted flow can save a lot of water. Open the tap open only when required and close it immediately after use. If need be, it must be closed in between use. Every citizen must be made to think of the future scarcity while using water every time. It is the responsibility of the present generation to leave greater water sources for the coming ones.

KC Varghese

Karikkattoor, Kerala

 

Ties with Maldives

India’s bilateral relationship with Maldives, one of the countries of strategic importance in the Indian Ocean, has taken a positive turn with the ascendancy of Ibrahim Mohamed Solih as the Prime Minister in November 2018. He has reiterated in unequivocal terms of his country’s commitment towards an ‘India First’ policy. No doubt, it is a shot in the arm for India's foreign policy. When his predecessor Abdullah Yameen embraced China and adopted an anti-India stance, it gave rise to the impression that Maldives was tilting towards Beijing.

Though Solih’s renewal of warm and cordial relations with India is a welcome development, we should not be oblivious of the the growing Chinese influence in South Asian waters with its strong economic clout. It is time we devise a long-term strategy that focusses on strengthening our maritime and security cooperation with Maldives.

M Jeyaram

Sholavandan, TN

 

Online nominations

Most political parties have announced their first list of candidates for the upcoming elections. The Election Commission (EC) has over the years been successful in bringing out effective and necessary electoral reforms. However, as far as nomination and withdrawal of candidates go, the EC still accepts submissions in paper form only.

Despite digitisation having replaced many paper-based formalities, it is ironical that the EC still adopts the archaic paper-trail based system to accept nominations from Lok Sabha/Assembly election candidates.

Varun SD

Bengaluru

Real-time data

With reference to ‘IBC: NeSL ‘gives creditors’ access to data real time’ (March 22), the new e-governance information utility arm created under IBC would be a useful pre-appraisal investigative search engine for member banks, financial institutions and other operational creditors in their credit decisions. It is not clear whether the new platform is a substitution or inclusive supporting mechanism for creditors. How cost effective the new investigative tool introduced is to be looked into from debtor point of view — if the same results in additional expenditure to the already overburdened debtors.

Sitaram Popuri

Bengaluru

 

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