Letters to the editor dated August 11, 2020

The ongoing corona crisis and the utter neglect of people living with chronic diseases have further exacerbated the fault lines in an already fragmented healthcare system. Long-term neglect of healthcare provisions has cost India dearly. Though people suffering from non-communicable diseases are at a higher risk of catching Covid, they are often overlooked when it comes to receiving prompt medical aid.

Public spending on infrastructure, social security, healthcare and education is what determines the quality and health of an economy. India is a laggard in terms of spending on the social sector. The corona crisis has brought to the fore the vulnerabilities of the healthcare system, leading to insecurity and uncertainty. Certain positive lessons should be drawn from the Kerala model, which has helped contain the Covid fatality rate to as low as 0.3 per cent and, at the same time, develop an effective mechanism to deal with non-communicable diseases.

Nainital, Uttarakhand

Every time a tragedy strikes, there is a sense of deja vu . The recent accident at Kozhikode is a case in point. None of the conditions that prevailed on that dark, fateful night was unknown, yet the plane crashed. Year after year, torrential downpour causes water-logging in Mumbai and elsewhere and our civic authorities have prepared us to expect little or no improvement. Are our systems not geared to learn and upgrade for a better response?

At least, the authorities concerned in Chennai moved quickly to shift a large consignment of ammonium nitrate in the wake of the deadly explosion in Beirut. Our collective memory is weak. We move from one incident to another and look back with regret.

Bengaluru

At a time when the manufacturing and services sectors are struggling to recover from the Covid pandemic blow, agriculture has emerged as the brightest spot and offers a ray of hope. However, the lack or absence of post-harvesting facilities and the resultant huge wastage of produce is perhaps one of the important reasons why farming has been steadily losing its status as a profitable proposition.

To help overcome this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had unveiled the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), to enhance post-harvest infrastructure in the country. Given that most of the storage infrastructure is not owned by farmers, they are often forced them to sell their produce at one go after the harvest when the prices are low. The creation of a comprehensive post-harvest infrastructure will emerge as a game-changer for country’s agriculture sector and our farmers.

Sholavandan, TN

The Congress has played safe by retaining Sonia Gandhi as party president pro-tem. The regional satraps of Congress had for long come to vest authority on the ‘high command’' to end perennial in-fights.

While the older generation understands the Congress well, the younger generation needs to be tutored on the value of patience. They who only stand and wait, also serve. A singular fixation to win forthcoming Assembly elections should enthuse Congressmen to sink their differences and anoint an able captain.

Navi Mumbai

There are huge amounts in unclaimed deposits at post-offices, and many of these account-holders may even have died. There are chances of frauds happening, with unscrupulous persons staking claim to such deposits.

The Department of Posts should send letters to account-holders who have not operated their accounts in, say, the last three years and give them reasonable time to either renew or close their accounts. If no response is received, all such unclaimed money may be frozen in some fixed account, which may be allowed to be withdrawn by legal heirs after careful verification.

New Delhi

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