Letters to the editor dated June 5, 2020

During a crisis such as Covid, when the future appears uncertain, it is difficult to instil confidence in a machinery that is acting like a babe in the woods. For some reason, it is believed that the coronavirus situation in Delhi is under control and quarantining inbound travellers is more than sufficient to curb the spread.

Below-par test-rate, a few thousands beds in a city of nearly two crore and absence of a robust healthcare system — even after months of pandemic-run — seem to be non-issues. Since most virus-carriers are asymptomatic/mildly symptomatic, the reported number of fresh cases hospitalised are lower than the actual count.

With non-severe symptomatic patients being discharged sooner, at times even without a Covid test, the count of recovered cases has improved and the effective mortality-rate in hospitals has reduced. Despite the shortcomings, let’s join the Centre and the State to celebrate the fact that we have outperformed most developed nations in the Covid battle.

New Delhi

As per media reports, around 39 per cent of all loans in the banking system have now come under the ambit of the RBI mandated six-month moratorium and, more importantly, small finance banks and those dealing with micro lending account for more than 90 per cent of the micro loans in the said category.

The RBI has, in its response to a Supreme Court-filed PIL seeking full waiver of interest thereon, reportedly submitted that ₹2 lakh crore loss is likely to be suffered by the banking system if such a waiver is eventually granted, and that will have serious consequences for the stability of the entire financial system.

However, the apex court is learnt to have given a week’s time to the Finance Ministry to respond to the RBI’s latest submission, as the next date of hearing is June 12.

New Delhi

This refers to ‘Not the right time for a scrappage policy’ (June 5). There is no doubt about the need for a scrappage policy as the commercial truck market is huge, around ₹43,000 crore, and has the capacity to create more job opportunities.

But under today’s circumstances, where the market has capacity overhang and revival in demand nowhere in sight, the government must think about the timing of this policy.

Besides, as rightly suggested by the writer, as single truck owners are also part of this huge market they may not be in a position to replace their trucks with there no business at all.

So it is better to put this policy on hold for few more months till some demand revival is visible from at least certain pockets of the country.

Noida

Vested interests know how to manipulate events to further their venomous campaign with alacrity. Soon after a pregnant elephant died after ingesting a pineapple filled with powerful crackers in Kerala, hate campaigns have sprouted in online/social media platforms, falsely attributing the location of death of the elephant to Muslim dominated Malappuram district.

Such a deliberate attempt to inject communal narrative to the heart-wrenching tale of a pachyderm is reprehensible. Also, concrete steps must be taken to put an end to the abominable practice of killing wild animals by using fruits as a bait.

Sholavandan, TN

With reference to ‘An ancient enemy’ (June 5), no amount of research and scientific measures will be adequate to control the pest problem, as new species of invasive insects are germinating because of climatic change.

Added to that, the accelerated migration of vermin from well protected environmental habitats to others is a lesson for mankind to understand the importance of following clean environmental policies to provide a non-conducive climate for their growth.

Bengaluru

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Send your letters by email to bleditor@thehindu.co.in or by post to ‘Letters to the Editor’, The Hindu Business Line, Kasturi Buildings, 859-860, Anna Salai, Chennai 600002.

COMMENT NOW