MyVoice: Views of our readers 18th September 2023

Rise in Nipah viral cases alarming

The growing number of Nipah viral cases in Kerala is causing much alarm. The fatal disease has no cure so the only way to fight it is containment. Though the disease is not much contagious when compared to corona, it’s dreadful with higher mortality rate. The zoonotic disease spreads from one human to other thorough contact of body fluids. So the people who are in contact with the patient including medical personnel are at high risk. Last time the same part of Kerala, Kozhikode could contain the disease with a concerted effort by civil society and the government. Now the spread seems to be much wider. Though the treatment with monoclonal antibodies is promising, according to ICMR, it can be too little to contain the menace. There should be proper research and understanding on characteristics of spread of Nipah virus apart from strategy of strict containment of disease.

Dr DVG Sankara Rao, Vizianagaram

Provide the gifts that matter

On the eve of election season arriving in some states and the centre in six months, political parties aspiring power are competitively offering freebies and slashing the prices of essential commodities. On the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, Government of India announced Rs 200 cut in LPG price. The best gifts primarily are restoration of train concessions, hiking of EPS-95 and other low paid pensions, bringing down spiralling prices of essential commodities, slashing of fuel rates, etc., to make the commoners’ life more comfortable. India is still reeling under poverty line ever since independence.

N Ramalakshmi, Secunderabad

PK mum on what TDP-JSP will achieve

JSP president Pawan Kalyan has announced alliance with the TDP. Will the alliance able to transfer votes from one party to the other given hard feelings between Kapus and Kammas. Further, PK only announced alliance but he failed to say what his alliance would do to the people if it voted to power. On the other hand, he said he was teaming up with TDP to dethrone the misrule of the YSRCP. JSP leader should realise that politics are not so easy as announcement of alliance.

Pratapa Reddy Y, Tiruvuru, AP

World Bank’s unwarranted praise of Modi

It is unwarranted and unethical on the part of World Bank to have praised PM Narendra Modi Modi in its document on G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, stating that Modi had achieved in 6 years what could take 5 decades. Aadhaar is the creation of previous governance, not of Modi. Such statements are intentional and partisan to help Modi’s image for a win in the ensuing elections. World Bank is led by US, and the praise is obvious of the motives.

P R Ravinder, Hyderabad.

INDIA needs to change its mindset

Releasing a list of 14 names of television news anchors and boycotting them by INDIA alliance team shows its ignorance of what journalism is. The Victorian writer Thomas Carlyle said the press is the “Fourth Estate of the Realm”. Former US President Thomas Jefferson said there were newspapers when there were no governments but no governments can survive without the press. Every reader and writer unconnected with the media are playing their journalistic roles by way of their articles and letters to newspapers, journals, magazines, etc. The ‘Samabhav’ does not reflect in the stance of INDIA bloc, thus hindering its prospects.

NSK Prasad, Hyderabad

Do justice to Indian girl’s family

This refers to “US promises action, lawmakers, Indian Americans slam cop’s remarks,” (THI, Sept 15). The insensitivity shown by the US policeman investigating the death of an Indian student, Jaahnavi Kandula, in a road accident in Seattle is particularly disturbing as such behaviour is not expected of an official responsible for law enforcement. The cop, Daniel Auderer, has been caught on camera laughing away the girl’s death with a sneering comment smacking of racism: ‘Her life had limited value anyway.’ He is further seen as being dismissive about any probe into the fatal crash, saying that the city authorities should ‘just write a cheque’ (for the family). However, the killing of a black man, George Floyd, by a white policeman in the US had led to the #blacklivesmatter protests around the globe in 2020 against police brutality and racial injustice. Jaahnavi deserves justice, too, just as Floyd got with exemplary punishment for his killer.

N Sadhasiva Reddy, Bengaluru