Letters to the editor dated November 16, 2021

This refers to ‘Cat’s out of bag: SC says urban factors, not stubble burning, to blame’ (November 16). All along, the Delhi administration was stating that stubble burning in Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab is the main cause of air pollution in Delhi.

The Centre has finally admitted that enormous house construction activities and mushrooming of vehicles and industries are the real culprits.

The Delhi administration should, among other steps, ban construction activities and impose vehicular restrictions for a longer time to prevent health hazards.

Hyderabad

This refers to the edit ‘Covid not over yet’ (November 16). Going by the government’s decision to allow fully vaccinated tourists from 99 countries without quarantine, it appears that not only the public but the government has also been lulled into carelessness by the decline in new Covid cases.

Malls, markets, restaurants, hotels and cinema halls are crowded with people and Covid protocols are not being followed, indicating that State governments have also thrown caution to the wind. Such carelessness could lead to people paying a heavy price later.

Pune

There is no doubt that India has done reasonably well both in terms controlling Covid cases/deaths and the vaccination drive. But it is not the time to drop our guard, however desperate we may be to return to normalcy.

Opening our doors again to 99 countries could have waited a bit longer, considering the potential damage.

There should be at least a seven-day quarantine for inbound tourists. Since the wedding season is round the corner, a casual approach to Covid control could be disastrous for all.

Noida

This refers to ‘Building trust in gold jewellery business’ (November 16). Though hallmarking is a good move for tackling tax evasion, the practical aspects involved can be challenging.

The certified agencies for undertaking the task aren’t equipped enough or suffer from credibility issues. At current capacity, the existing stock of about five crore jewellery pieces could take 18 months to hallmark. This is no small disruption to a trade that is a high employment generator.

Good policies made in haste without proper infrastructure support will only hurt the economy.

Navi Mumbai

Apropos ‘Coffee growers fear 30 per cent dip in Arabica output’ (November 16) is a much expected estimate on two paradigms — the weather and the unrelenting pest issue, which has remain unresolved for decades.

The gains that the Arabica growers are enjoying at present could be short-lived, in view of severely enhanced and irreversible input costs, including cost of borrowing.

The loan rescheduling proposed by the body representing growers may not be the panacea since there is no surety that the deferment in loan repayment will help them come out of debt, unless the growers quickly find an attractive commercial alternative that gives them financial succour. Finding value-added products is one of the remedies. Looking for newer markets, without much dependence on middlemen, will also help.

Halekere Village, Karnataka

With reference to ‘RBI officers, staff chalk out agitation plan to press wage revision’ (November 16), it was intriguing to learn that the officers and employees of the RBI have to take the agitational path after their several attempts to revive talks on the issue of wage settlement having failed.

What truly eludes the revision of wages in the RBI thus far still remains a mystery. Let us hope that the final curtains would soon be drawn over this unduly prolonged matter.

New Delhi

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