Sir — The actor, Sonu Sood, has once again warmed hearts by offering accommodation as well as jobs in garment factories to 20,000 migrant workers in Noida. Sood had earlier been in the limelight for helping migrant workers find transportation home at a time when the Centre and some state governments were doing precious little on that front. It is heartening to see celebrities use their resources for the greater good instead of only indulging themselves. Unfortunately, such celebrities are the exception to the rule.

Aftab Khan,
Lucknow

Dark hour

Sir — Hunger and poverty are at the root of the bulk of India’s most pressing problems, all of which have been exacerbated many times over by the Covid-19 pandemic. It was heartbreaking to read about the five-year-old girl in the Nagla Vidhichand village in Agra’s Baroli Ahir block who died of starvation after her family had to go without food for a month. Her 40-year-old mother had been looking for a job to no avail in order to be able to feed her family. The young girl finally passed away after having been sick for a few days towards the end. One shudders to think about the grief of the parents over having to lose their child.

It is no secret that the Centre as well as a number of state governments have made a mess of handling the coronavirus crisis, including the effect it has had on the livelihoods of vast swathes of the country’s population. Migrant workers across the country lost their jobs and had no food or transportation to get back home to their towns and villages; many of them died of hunger and exhaustion — and also of the disease — while trying to trudge their way back home on foot. How can a democratically elected government take the plight of citizens so lightly during a global contagion? Why has citizens’ access to food not been made a top priority by the Centre at this time? It is clearly in denial about the realities on the ground; the Union railways minister, Piyush Goyal, had recently said that the government had ensured that no Indian starved during the pandemic. One wonders what he would have to say in the case of the young girl from Agra.

Amrita Basu,
Calcutta

Sir — It is a matter of concern that a vast majority of the Indian population still lives in poverty. India is one of the poorest countries in the world, and women and children, who form the most vulnerable sections of society, are invariably the worst affected. A tragedy unfolded in Agra recently when a five-year-old girl from an impoverished family in the Nagla Vidhichand village died after her family had to go without food for a month.

While poverty and the resultant hunger have indeed been the country’s biggest challenges, the coronavirus pandemic has only deepened the crisis and worsened the economic inequality in India. This has blighted our democracy even in this postcolonial era. Policy interventions for the short-term, such as food provisions, are not going to be enough to solve the problem. For example, poor hygiene conditions vastly aggravate diseases such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery. The basic indices of daily life for all citizens need to be improved.

N.R. Salam,
Jammu

Sir — The family of the little girl who died in Agra deserves justice. The government must be taken to task for ordinary people having to go through such suffering.

Shilpa Kapur,
Delhi

Big help

Sir — It was heartening to hear that the artist, Banksy, has reportedly funded a yacht to rescue refugees attempting to reach Europe from North Africa. While the anonymous British artist is usually known for his subversive street art, he has of late caught people’s attention for his humanitarian gestures. He recently created a portrait depicting a health worker at the forefront of the coronavirus crisis as a superhero; now, he is helping people escape persecution and suffering by facilitating their relocation. It is often said that art has the power to change the world. It is even better when artists, alongside creating relevant work, also contribute directly to helping others.

Iqra Ahmad,
Calcutta