Kindness counts

Sir — It is easy to forget about the hard work that daily wage labourers and professionals from various industries put in to make sure our lives are not disrupted. From waiters who serve customers during Durga Puja to bus and auto drivers who ferry passengers even on national holidays, these workers contribute enormously to the smooth running of society. It is thus nice to see people taking a moment and thanking them for their service as a group of friends did with a Zomato delivery person recently. In a video shared widely on Twitter, a delivery agent can be seen cutting a cake that he delivered to some youths celebrating New Year. Sometimes, a little kindness is all it takes to make a difference in people’s lives.

Sayanti Biswas, Calcutta

Unsafe lives

Sir — The gruesome death of a 20-year-old woman in Delhi after being dragged under the wheels of a car for several kilometres is chilling. As per the National Crime Records Bureau, a girl is raped in India every 16 minutes and a woman faces cruelty every four minutes at the hands of her in-laws. Candle marches and protests after every such case of assault bear no fruit. Further, when cases of heinous assault against women are so frequent, they cannot be termed ‘rarest of the rare’ anymore. Serious effort is required on the part of the government to ensure women’s safety.

Tashi Baheti, Ujjain

Clean it up

Sir — In a welcome development, the chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, has proclaimed that a proper vigilance system will be put in place by the Trinamul Congress to weed out corrupt netas (“Code for graft season bad apple: insect”, Jan 3). The party’s national generalsecretary, Abhishek Banerjee, has already asked for the resignation of the chairman of the Kharagpur municipality in West Midnapore. Despite such clear mandates from the party’s leadership, it is unfortunate that allegations of corruption continue to crop up against party functionaries. Ahead of the crucial polls in 2023 and 2024, the party bosses need to be ruthless in tackling corruption to avoid public resentment.

Khokan Das, Calcutta

Cruel twist

Sir — It is sad that the Afghan national, Abdul Musawer, has been denied scholarship to pursue a Masters course in journalism (“Cabbie, after scholarship flip”, Jan 2). The flip-flop by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations has left him in the lurch. Not giving refugees a chance to establish themselves is unfair.

Murtaza Ahmed, Calcutta

Uncivil conduct

Sir — The boorish behaviour and complete lack of official etiquette displayed by members of the Bharatiya Janata Party at an official programme attended by the prime minister is disconcerting (“Too loud”, Jan 2). This is the second time religious chants have been directed at the chief minister of West Bengal at an event where the prime minister was present. The fault lies equally with government officials in charge of such events and party functionaries who encourage such breaches of protocol.

K. Nehru Patnaik, Visakhapatnam

Not child’s play

Sir — The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, had once exhorted his fellow countrymen to be “vocal for local toys” after noting that India was importing 80% of its toys. India’s toy manufacturing industry, made up of around 4,000 units, is largely unorganised. But in a global toy market that is dominated by China, India has a huge untapped potential. Toymaking is no child’s play — it demands technical skill along with an aesthetic sense. Appropriate government policies, proper infrastructure and proactive investment can transform India’s toy industry into a global player.

Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai

Mysterious death

Sir — The mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of a woman from Coimbatore who had recently gone to the Isha Yoga Center run by Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Foundation deserves a thorough investigation. As is evident from his frequent interactions with leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Vasudev — who also goes by the honorific, ‘Sadhguru’ — enjoys considerable political clout. That should not deter the police from asking how a woman who had attended a week-long yoga retreat at the Center ended up in a well five kilometres away.

Tharcius S. Fernando, Chennai

Spirited artist

Sir — The Telegraph deserves praise for introducing its readers to the inspirational artist and blogger, Seba Salam, who manages to write in spite of being bedridden with spinal muscular atrophy (“Trapped in a cage but words break free”, Jan 1). Salam is aware that she cannot be cured of the disease completely. But she has accepted this as a challenge and willed herself to paint and write. People will certainly be inspired by her indomitable spirit.

Jahar Lal Saha, Calcutta

Time to reconnect

Sir — Covid-19 had a serious impact on our social connections. We lost touch with numerous friends in the last two to three years. Social media provides the best opportunity to renew such old relationships.

C.K. Ramanathan, Ghaziabad

Parting shot

Sir — Bhutia Market has been a quintessential part of Calcutta winters. But given the tepid winter this time, these shacks selling woollen garments have failed to make money.

Srijoni Poddar, Calcutta