Flooding concerns

Apropos ‘Why monsoons throw cities out of gear’ (September 19), though climate change has exacerbated the flooding problem, the root cause lies in unplanned expansion of cities, extensive encroachments obliterating the centuries old water-bodies and and lack of proper drainage systems and storm water drains. Political leadership doesn’t think beyond their short period of five years in office and focus only on temporary solutions and cosmetic changes. Urban Planning Committees are constituted, long term master plans are prepared, but they mostly remain on paper, as necessary funding is not provided for implementation. Now that climate change is a reality and the floods have become a recurring problem causing extensive damage to life and property and overwhelming the entire administration, local authorities in cities must focus their attention on comprehensive long-term solutions that would enable the cities to face natural calamities with greater preparedness.

Kosaraju Chandramouli

Hyderabad

Probes by regulators

With reference to the editorial ‘Investigation deficit’ (September 19), the investigative skills of regulators and enforcement agencies haven’t been good enough in establishing proper evidence against culpable offences. Considering the long-winded procedures involved in forensic investigation to bring out the accurate factual position, regulators may adopt AI and other scientific techniques, to save costs and the time involved in deciding trivial cases.

Sitaram Popuri

Bengaluru

Simultaneous elections

The Cabinet nod for ‘One Nation, One Election’ displays the misplaced priority of the government. Except for the cost factor, there is little else to back the decision. Election is an opportunity for the people to demonstrate their democratic sanction or resentment over the policies and programmes of a government. People exercising this right should not be curtailed just to reduce expense. The very idea of mandating holding elections to assemblies along with those to Parliament goes against the very federal structure of the Constitution. The proposal to hold elections to local bodies in 100 days after general elections is also expensive and it is aimed at taking advantage of the outcome of national-level elections.

AG Rajmohan

Anantapur, AP

Antimicrobial resistance

According to a recent Lancet study, antimicrobial resistant bacteria kill five million people every year, with India bearing the brunt where the overuse or wrongful use of antibiotics is rampant. The study has set the alarm bells ringing, by pointing out that nearly 10.4 lakh sepsis deaths in India (deaths occur when one’s immune system has a dangerous reaction to a bacterial infection and without treatment can lead to organ failure) in 2019 were linked to AMR (antimicrobial resistance).

Though AMR has been recognised as a major global public health challenge, much needs to be done to regulate the use of antibiotics. More focus has to be turned towards eliminating indiscriminate use of antibiotics over the counter. Improving diagnostics at the local level to identify disease-causing bacteria to enable doctors to prescribe appropriate antibiotics and not broad-spectrum ones that do not target the specific bacteria is the need of the hour.

M Jeyaram

Sholavandan, TN