Maintain parliamentary decorum

Apropos the edit ‘Op Sindoor...’. There was nothing new about the debate in Parliament with each side only repeating what was said by them on umpteen earlier occasions. The Indian public is paying for the debates, and I wish there was a way for demanding our money back for these kinds of debates that are just noisy and lack substance.

The fortuitous way the Pahalgam killers were liquidated is a little suspicious because there were constant demands from the opposition to arrest them. Which terrorist would carry their voter ID card from Pakistan if they were to indulge in terror attacks? The only notable thing about the entire debate came courtesy of Priyanka Gandhi, who gave names of the dead.

Anthony Henriques, Mumbai

Aghast at Trump’s doublespeak

It was a proud moment when ISRO successfully launched the earth observation satellite NISAR, which has been developed jointly by NASA and ISRO (THI, July 31). While USA and India with NASA and ISRO have collaborated, coordinated and cooperated on the highly expensive satellite indicates their great vibes as regards space technology.

Against this backdrop, it is shocking that US President Donald Trump, despite ongoing deliberations with India, has announced a 25 per cent tariff on Indian exports to the USA adding penalty for buying Russian crude oil at discounted price. One fails to understand Trump’s doublespeak pertaining to ‘friendship’ and ‘tariff’.

In addition, Trump announced a deal with Pakistan on developing massive oil reserves and hoped that India would buy oil from Pakistan! The increase in tariff is bound to adversely impact both India and the United States. Hopefully, Trump will rethink his hasty announcement and reduce tariffs after which both nations stand to benefit.

J P Reddy, Nalgonda-508001

Who will bell the cat?

This has reference to the article on ‘80 years history of plastic chairs and futuristic environmental Villain’. It must be noted that since 1957, plastic has been promoted and sold in India, including used in everyday life. In fact, there are several colleges that offer diplomas to PG courses on plastic.

Our country has around 50,000 plastic processing units, which provide thousands of jobs. Moreover, without government support, such progress cannot happen. So far no one has found any equivalent material that can effectively replace plastic (despite the ‘ill-effects’) across all applications.

Gudipati Shanti Priya, Secunderabad-11

GHMC chief must follow Lucknow example

I wish to appeal to the Commissioner, GHMC, to emulate the fine example set forth by the Lucknow civic body, which has successfully turned garbage hills into green parks and waste into fuel. The great transformation has seen Lucknow leapfrog from the 41st rank to an envious third in the Swacch- Survekshan ranking, 2024-25. This can be attributed to the diligence and determination of Indrajit Singh, Lucknow Municipal Commissioner, and his team.

They successfully processed nearly 20 metric tonnes of solid waste into fuel and organic fertilizer. He not only provided 1200 EV vehicles to collect household waste but also JCB vehicles to clean up drainage canals. Making the initiative more effective, Singh ensured proper training to sanitation workers, who were all provided PPE kits and were subject to regular health check-up. By adopting such novel methods, he made Lucknow a greener and hygienic city. The GHMC chief can also take similar measures to transform Hyderabad.

R. J. Janardhana Rao, Hyderabad-28