The looming drought

The news on drought conditions is cause for concern. Though the IMD and Skymet have a fairly optimistic outlook on rainfall, we need to understand why we are in this situation. The current excessive warming is not just the El Nino effect. The highly soil exploitative green revolution has contributed as much as 25 per cent to global warming through unbridled use of chemical fertilisers primarily nitrogenous, which after hydrolysis releases a highly toxic and long-lasting green house gas known as nitrous oxide through denitrifaction. There is only talk about large-scale organic farming, nothing purposeful on the ground.

‘Water civility’ as against ‘water profligacy’ must be imbibed in the Indian mindset. The Art of Living Foundation used crowd-funding to raise ₹2 crore in a single day for widening, deepening and de-silting the Manjra dam in Latur, which is reeling under a catastrophic water deficit. Meanwhile, the residences of our politicians and bigwigs have sprawling lawns where water is used mindlessly to keep the grass green.

KP Prabhakaran Nair

Kozhikode, Kerala

Bold stand

Although I don’t support vandalism, it seems workers have no option but to resort to violence against the unscrupulous decisions of the finance minister (‘As Bengaluru erupts, Centre blinks, allows full PF withdrawal’ April 20). I salute the workers for standing up to these decisions.

Sanat Kumar Goswami

Kolkata

Cost versus benefits

With reference to ‘Alco-populism’ by Tina Edwin (From the viewsroom, April 20), we may consider how much the loss suffered by States would be balanced by the intended social, family and individual benefits that would accrue from prohibition. Since a large number of the poor fall victim to alcoholism, prohibition should lead to better health, domestic peace, reduced indebtedness and less number of criminal activities. Some of the benefits are intangible. However, those completely addicted may suffer from health hazards or change over to illicit liquor. Free flow of liquor from adjoining States may thwart the intended benefits and enhance corrupt practices.

So, unless prohibition is accompanied by well-conceived programmes that wean addicts away from drinking and the State prevents the illicit liquor business from prospering, the revenue loss will endure without much impact on the quality of life of tipplers.

YG Chouksey

Pune

A sudden ban on alcohol is not possible. But we cannot actively promote alcohol the way it’s being done in Tamil Nadu. Revenue loss should not be the only criterion. Despite earning crores, the State has done nothing to spread awareness about the ill effects of consuming alcohol.

A few days ago I went to buy groceries; I passed five Tasmac shops before I found a grocery store. Getting a bottle of alcohol is easier than buying a packet of milk. Alcoholism is becoming a culture and this is unacceptable. If this doesn't require government intervention then what does?

CR Arun

Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu

A case for SEBI

After reading ‘Are MFs easy to enter and difficult to exit, a la Chakravyuha’ by NS Vageesh (April 19), I have to think twice before continuing with further investments in MFs. I was under the impression that redemption of MF units would be as easy as crediting dividends. If MFs are repayable only to the first holder despite there being the ‘either or survivor’ clause, it’s a problem and SEBI should step in to address it. It means they treat joint investments also similarly. It should be made mandatory for MFs to print address of the SEBI authority whom investors can approach with their grievances.

RV Bhat

Belagavi, Karnataka

Bad idea

Reducing interest rates is a step in the wrong direction. The fixed income group and pensioners are the most affected. The RBI should look into this issue with consideration for senior citizens and bring schemes for people above 65 with higher interest.

KG Shankar

Email

Act now

The images of parched land, dried up water bodies, water trains, and women in droves walking long distances to fetch water vividly convey the severity of the drought now blighting large parts of the country. Few would agree with Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati that there isn’t much we can do. On a life-and-death issue, we cannot afford to be fatalistic and abandon the distressed to their fate. Clearly, it has not occurred to the minister that drought occurs largely for reasons attributable to man: unsustainable development, dubious projects, destruction of wetlands and water-hungry lifestyles to mention a few. While drought must receive immediate attention and action, it should also prompt us to work out long-term strategies to weaken the conditions conducive to drought. Water conservation and management hold the key. When agriculture is the country’s economic mainstay, the importance of water cannot be overemphasised.

While entire communities are ‘water-stressed’, there is a lot of water wastage from preparations for VIP visits to drought-hit areas like making helipads and ensuring dust-free rides on roads. The water used for pitches plays havoc with the lives and livelihoods of as many as 330 million people. Those who turn on their taps, flush their lavatories and water their plants from the comfort of their homes cannot understand what acute water scarcity means. Those who live in air-conditioned houses and travel in air-conditioned cars cannot know what it is like to suffer heat wave conditions.

G David Milton

Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Crying over oil

With reference to your edit, ‘Reviving exports’ (April 20), the gold standard was abandoned by all national governments to secure for themselves a legal monopoly of issuing money, empowering them to create new money at will and that was the genesis of inflation. Today we are part of a global economy that was for long correlated to the ongoing state of oil demand and pricing. So much so, oil and energy-related economic sectors carried humongous investments. We now had a liquid gold-led economy that tended towards deflation when its demand fell.

Elevated oil prices had been co-terminus with a surge in global economy and trade. As global trade peaked so did crude. As global economies suffered post 2008-09, Brent crude fell. In the past nine months alone, $150 billion worth investment in the oil sector has been stranded and accumulating oil exporter nations are in a fix in the absence of growth led demand elsewhere. The era of liquid gold is far from over and nations are waiting for a oil price rebound to reanimate a huge global economy that rides on oil, but lies in stasis. Till the oil sector recovers globally, we can achieve little in our export efforts.

R Narayanan

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

There’s more to it

‘Being rich per se is not an issue’ by Sidharth Birla (April 19) attempted superficially to blame the system and the government for all economic offences — corruption, black money, money laundering, loan defaults, Panama Papers, etc. To some extent this may be true but the real cause lies elsewhere. The unrestrained greed of businessmen, who want their wealth to cover the next seven generations and the way the wealthy flaunt their riches are the main causes of unethical and illegal financial behaviour. To control this, we need severe inheritance and succession taxation. Being prosperous is no offence but the ugly show of riches affects society. If a few wealthy possess a substantial part of the land, it will cause scarcity and hardship to the poor.

Trupti Goyal

Jodhpur, Rajasthan

Rollback of PF order

The Centre’s climbdown and rollback of its earlier order with respect to Provident Fund exposes the inherent weakness of how in the name of working for the welfare of people, elected governments take their mandate for granted. Without wide consultations with stakeholders, such a unilateral approach to people-centric issues are bound to meet with resistance.

R Prabhu Raj

Bengaluru

The finance ministry should desist from making direct and indirect attempts to milk the nest egg of the common people, who, unlike the Vijay Mallyas of the world, are honest by and large and pay all their tax dues in full without a reminder from the government.

KS Jayatheertha

Bengaluru

Rajan’s right

The RBI governor is right in saying that we should not club wilful defaulters with normal defaulters. Other defaulters should be given one more chance. This is what the governor wants to clarify and one should not find fault with him.

TSN Rao

Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh

Raghuram Rajan’s comment on the economy has evoked strong reactions from politicians on his choice of words. But given the recent history of economic downfall in Greece, one cannot blame him. It is time for politicians to respond with facts.

Vikram Sundaramurthy

Chennai

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