Control the deaths
Arvind Kejriwal has mismanaged the situation in Delhi. It is a different matter, though, that he did not get enough support from the Centre. The BJP government at the Centre and the AAP government in Delhi should put aside politics and fight the crisis on a war footing (‘Capital pains’, June 21).
It is very important that patients get enough beds, in both private and government hospitals. Kejriwal took a wrong decision when he said that hospital beds in Delhi are exclusively for residents of Delhi. One cannot afford to have such a rule in the capital of the country. I feel awareness among people in Delhi is less, when compared with states like Kerala. Or, people are mostly nonchalant. All this is adding to the worry. People in Delhi should wear masks and take all precautions when they move out.
Covid-19 has reached a stage where it has started affecting so many of us, but it is important at this juncture to control the number of deaths. It is a positive sign that the recovery percentage has gone up in the country.
P. Gopikrishnan,
On email.
It is too early to suggest that Kejriwal has lost the plot in Delhi. Of course, he took some missteps, like the attempt to earmark government hospitals in Delhi. When Delhi, or for that matter, the whole country is in the thick of a crisis, it is better to extend a helping hand than to point an accusing finger.
Raveendranath A.,
On email.
Kejriwal is playing his old trick of blaming the Centre and lieutenant governor for all the ills! Why was he not prepared for all this in the first place?
Kejriwal should rise to the occasion and take all help from the Central government in tackling the pandemic.
K. Aravinda Upadhyaya,
On email.
Thank you
At a time when we are scared of Covid-19, ‘Gentle touch to lonely giants’ (June 21 ) was a welcome read; it felt like a painkiller. As readers, we owe you a big salute for having presented us with such a good report.
More and more tourists should come to this elephant rehabilitation centre in Kerala.
P.M. Gopalan,
On email.
Fooling the people
It is not the longevity of politicians that should matter. Almost all of them are there in politics only for personal gains (‘Power Point’, June 21). It does not matter whether an MP sat in the last row or was a frontbencher. What was his or her contribution, if any? Said Abraham Lincoln, “You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” Alas, the likes of Deve Gowda and his ilk seem to think they can fool all the people all the time, and they are proving it, age no bar.
Sharath Ahuja,
On email.
Rise to the challenge
Swara Bhasker has rightly questioned the aptness of people ridiculing Bollywood celebrities for not opening their purse strings to bail out the nation in the ongoing crisis, as if it’s something which is obligatory on their part (‘Just a bad play’, June 21). The moot point is that a crisis is not overcome through charities, but by rising up to the challenges.
The government is taking recourse to statistics, no matter how pleasing the figures may appear, to cover up its own inefficiencies. With health care a shambles and with jobs being lost, lives and livelihoods remain at stake.
Vipul Pande,
Nainital.
Brave Mumbaikars
Jerry Pinto has delved deep into the psyche of people, revealing the truth behind the facade of Mumbai (‘The city of perils’, June 14). The city of dreams, as we call it, has a very unique character and its people often bounce back after turbulent times.
Covid-19 is teaching us some bitter lessons. We need to cope with stressful conditions, performing everyday chores. Here beauty and ugliness coexist. Good wishes to brave Mumbaikars!
Surinder Pal,
On email.
The pandemic is inflicting maximum damage on Maximum City. Mumbai, which has always been bursting at the seams, is now gasping for breath, struck by a virus which respects only social distancing, a tall order in a city which is home to not only one of the largest slums in the world but also billionaires.
As mounting Covid-19 cases put unrelenting pressure on an already overstretched health care system, surviving the pandemic is becoming more of a lottery. The Mumbai spirit seems to have been, for once, vanquished by an invisible enemy.
Vijai Pant,
On email.
Indira Gandhi in 1981 had said at a conference in Rome that the cost of an inter-continental ballistic missile was equivalent to setting up over three lakh primary schools. Covid-19 has already killed so many people. None of them were killed by bombs, drones and bullets.
Any man with common sense would agree that it is far more important to realise that the essence of real security is in safeguarding people—their capabilities, and not just safeguarding borders.
It is strongly suggested that world leaders should jointly prepare a peace plan, also involving terrorists, which should address the following points: (a) Importance of peace than a piece of land, (b) health care for all living beings, (c) the need for countries to come closer for oneness and togetherness, (d) the need for efforts to bridge the gap between weak and rich countries and (e) efforts to jointly bring the world out of crisis to tranquility.
Ashok Nihalani,
On email.