Letters to the editor: April 2, 2020

This refers to the editorial ‘Unkind cut’ (April 2). The government can keep tweaking the interest rates on post office small saving schemes on a quarterly basis. However, at this critical juncture, it could have maintained status quo — especially when other means of earnings are hit. Senior citizens are heavily dependent on these small saving schemes for survival..

Interestingly, the government is asking landlords to defer rent payments from tenants, doling out other rightful benefits like relaxation in EMI etc. Why such a narrow view in this particular istance, then? The government needs to be even-handed at this time. It ought to introspect on this unkind cut.

Chennai

The news that China has opened the Wuhan wet market,which is the global epicentre of the novel coronavirus, sends a message about China’s attitude towards the seriousness of the situation. China must be careful on resuming its markets, from where the global pandemic spread. What China ought to do at this juncture of the crisis is make apparent the medical treatment details to the world which resulted in ‘mass recovery’ of patients in Wuhan. Now, China has to cooperate with all countries affected by the virus for recovery to mitigate the agony caused by the pandemic, otherwise ìt will loose its prominence as a global power.

Sivakasi

The religious congregation organised by Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin in Delhi has now become the subject of intense debate in the country, with a large cluster of coronavirus cases emerging from the event. Both the organisers of the religious event and the government of Delhi must share equal blame for having organised such a massive gathering even after warnings.

Many State governments have rightly issued a directive seeking participants and their contacts to voluntarily commit themselves for testing. Given the enormous challenges confronting the country and its people, any attempt to give sectarian dimensions to the spread of coronavirus is despicable. The country needs a united front against coronavirus , not a deliberate divisive agenda.

Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu

It was pleasing to know that the Punjab and Chandigarh High Court has allowed farmers to work in the field for harvesting crops. Similarly, the court said that industries and factories can function as long as workers are provided with accommodation, food and medication. In addition, markets will remain open from 10 am to 6 pm. These rulings bring a big relief for farmers, daily workers, poor and needy people as they can earn their livelihood for their survival. It will also boost the declining economy of the State. However, it also a bit challenging for the State to maintain social distancing among the people in such situations, thus the government must ensure the safety of people at work.

Lucknow

Apropos to your news item ‘Indian Railways, airlines allowing travellers to book tickets from April 15’, it is clarified that the headline of this news is highly misleading and the quote given by W Rly’s PRO at Ahmedabad has been misinterpreted regarding opening of train reservation post lockdown period w.e.f. 15th April, 2020.

It is worth mentioning that as per extant reservation policy, a passenger can book its e -ticket through IRCTC website or IRCTC App as per advance reservation period of 120 days. No change for online e-ticket booking provisions has been done inspite of nationwide lockdown of 21 days. Online reservation for journeys post April 14, 2020 was never stopped & is not related to any new announcement. Online reservation through IRCTC’s website has already being done always for the trains w.e.f. April 15, 2020 onwards. Therefore, all the passengers are requested to not to get confused by any such media reports. Railways has only made certain changes in refund rules to provide relaxation to passengers regarding cancellation of their previously booked tickets.

Chief Public Relations Officer

Western Railways

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