MyVoice: Views of our readers 13th May 2021

Stay mentally strong

Experiences of Covid winners published under "Practice positivity, bust negativity" (May 12) are timely during this testing time and the tormented will recoup their diminished vigour and strength psychologically primarily and with a hope that finally they will surely become normal under the care of caretakers. There would be no setbacks if strong will power, determination, and perseverance are possessed. I cite my own example here.

I am 73 having diabetes and BP and my wife is 65 having severe ailments. In April this year, my sister's husband passed away in Vijayawada and we rushed there. Along with others, the body was physically carried, kept in a mortuary for three days until arrival of his son from US, took the body to burial ground for cremation. All this period I spent maximum time in the midst of dead bodies. After ten days, all our family members were tested negative. Of course, we have taken utmost safety precautionsat every point of time. So to say, as said by someone in this column, one should be mentally strong and only then they can encourage others to serve our fellow men in times of dire need.

Dr N S R Murthy, Secunderabad

EC's role debatable during recent polls

Madabhushi's article-' EC and its role as Covid superspreader' is well crafted highlighting the dismal failure of EC by conducting elections in an irresponsible manner. The HC had come heavily on the EC and rightly so. In the letters column some reader had tried to find fault with the author and even the HC in this regard but failed to adduce any reason.

The HC is absolutely right in castigating the EC and author Madabhushi is even more right in exposing the same in a number articulated way. But for the elections we would not have been in such a sorry mess as we are today. The EC is an independent body with vast powers and it failed miserably in discharging its August role by trying to please the rulers.

No sane mind can see any reason for stretching the elections in eight phases in Bengal. That being the scenario, it is ridiculous to contemplate simultaneous elections for the whole nation in one go. The EC had belittled itself further by approaching SC in the matter against Chennai HC. it received the rap from SC for seeking to impose restrictions on media reporting the proceedings.

Vinay Bhushan Bhagwaty, Hyderabad

Globally over 1300 journalists succumb to Covid-19

India losing four scribes per day, says Swiss body

The Covid-19 pandemic continues to kill working journalists around the world, where the global tally reaches at least 1302 victims in 76 countries till 11 May 2021. Brazil with 191 journo-casualties because of novel corona virus infection aggravated ailments still tops the list of victims among journalists narrowly followed by India (171 dead). In the south Asian country, at least 40 journalists died of Covid-19 complications in the last 10 days.

According to Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), the Switzerland based media rights & safety body, Peru follows India with 140 media-casualties and Mexico with 109. Below the hundred mark, Colombia lost 57 journalists due to the pandemic, followed by Italy (55), Bangladesh (52), USA, Ecuador (48 each), United Kingdom (28), Dominican Republic (27), Pakistan (26), Turkey (25), Argentina (23), etc.

Since March 2020, the PEC started a corona-ticker to pay tributes to the journalists died of Covid-19 around the world, said Blaise Lempen, secretary-general of PEC (www.pressemblem.ch/) adding that journalists have an important role to play in the fight against the virus and hence their safety must be a priority for every nation.

"Journalists are particularly at risk in this crisis as they are continuing their jobs to provide information from the ground. A number of them died for lack of adequate protective measures when performing their duties. We advocate for early vaccinations to journalists on the frontlines and also adequate compensations to the victim families," stated Lempen. India is rapidly losing scribes to the pandemic almost four individuals per day, which is alarming and the billion plus nation has lately witnessed the demise of many journalists to corona-aggravated ailments.

Relatively fewer corona-casualties among journalists are reported from Iran, Russia (21 each), Venezuela (19), Panama (16), Spain, Ukraine (15 each), Bolivia, Egypt (14 each), Honduras (11), Afghanistan, Nigeria, South Africa, France (9 each), Guatemala (8), Nepal, Nicaragua (7 each), Uruguay (6), Kenya, Paraguay (5 each), Cuba (4), Cameroon, Morocco, Salvador, Sweden, Zimbabwe (3 each), Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Ghana, Iraq, Indonesia (2 each), etc.

Thakuria Navajyoti, Guwahati