MyVoice: Views of our readers 4th January 2021

Two sets of laws in Telangana

The Jan Jagaran of Telangana state BJP president Bandi Sanjay that was to begin at his office in Karimnagar was stalled by the TRS government, resulting in the arrest of more than 200 party activists that included women. The government action was in tune with diabolic and treacherous tactics followed by Mamata Banerjee in proactively silencing her opponents, instilling a sense of fear in them. The evening swoop by the police, forcibly cutting open the entrance and office doors of the BJP office was unwarranted. The Jan Jagaran was intended to highlight the need to amend GO 317 which is discriminatory and would affect the nativity of a large number of employees and teachers in the State. It is unfortunate that TRS is following two sets of law, one for itself and the other for the Opposition.

S Lakshmi, Hyderabad

Action on union leader repressive

The intimidating tactics of the Central government reached a new stage when it issued a chargesheet to RN Parashar, the Secretary General of Confederation of Central Government Employees & Workers (CCGEW) and Secretary General of National Federation of Postal Employees (NFPE), on his date of superannuation from the services of Department of Posts. This is nothing but exhibition of bureaucratic hegemony of the powers-that-be to delay the pension and other post-retirement benefits. This unwarranted penal action is deplorable as this highly respected postal union leader availed foreign service duly sanctioned by Dept of Posts and earlier too leaders utilised such a provision. Moreover, during such period of foreign service, it is important to note that, the entire pay and allowances and even pension contribution of the official are paid by the Union. There are glorious experiences for Indian working class which successfully pushed back against the draconian decisions by authoritative regimes like those of Indira Gandhi and Jayalalithaa. This is a repressive measure to deter the workers and employees across the country from making their nationwide general strike on February 23-24 a grand success.

A Raghunatha Reddy, Kadapa

EC must take note of Covid surge threat

We have been witnessing an increase in Covid cases in some of the countries akin to rise of a phoenix from ashes which should be a wakeup call for India. In India too, Covid cases are increasing steadily and States have started to impose night curfews as a precautionary measure. Second wave affected our country drastically and elections conducted in some states was one of the reasons for the surge at that time. It is ironic that the Election commission has recently given a go-ahead for some Assembly elections in the coming weeks even after the tragic experience of the second wave devastation. India can ill-afford another situation like that. Some of the alternatives in this situation are Imposing president rule in those states in which elections are due and conducting elections when the situation comes under control. Another alternative is to permit election meetings through live video sessions by banning physical meetings. Also, EC can allow election rallies with smaller crowds by allowing parties in election fray with Covid appropriate behaviour.

V Nagendra Kumar, Hyderabad

Scientific silos for grain storage

It is an appreciable decision of the Centre to store all foodgrains in a scientific manner by March. By adopting this method country will do away with the unscientific cover and plinth (CAP) procedure. We are also aware that in 2014 parliament elections it was the election issue when bulk of grain decayed in godowns. Currently, foodgrains in India are stored in archaic warehouses without any use of technology and according to United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation produce worth $14 billion is damaged annually in India due to poor storage and in 2010 India was the second largest horticulture producer in the world, but about 30 percent of fruit and vegetables were wasted. Silo structures follow a scientific method of storing grains where stored grain is kept dry and aired so as to prevent fungal and insect attacks. In India there are a few silos in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai and Hapur-Ghaziabad, which are largely insufficient to cater to the need of grain storage in proportion to massive food production. Silos are the ideal mode of storage particularly for a nation such as India which depends on buffer stock for its food security.

Yash Pal Ralhan, Jalandhar