Artistic solution
Sir — While many countries view graffiti as vandalism, the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation has decided to use it to achieve greater ends. The BMC has recently been using interesting wall art to convey important messages to citizens. As cases of dengue soar in Calcutta and its adjoining areas, the BMC has taken to painting bright and humorous messages on walls, alerting people to the disease. It is refreshing to see the drab walls around Salt Lake that are usually splashed with monotonous electoral messages from political parties enlivened with useful and lively quips.
Sharmila Das, Calcutta
Lip service
Sir — It is disheartening that the prime minister, Narendra Modi, responded to the no-confidence motion brought against his government by simply mocking and slandering the Congress instead of responding to pertinent questions (“The ‘record-breaking’ blah-sphemy”, Aug 11). The no-confidence motion was a desperate attempt to direct the prime minister’s attention towards important national issues. However, Modi spent most of his speech criticising the Congress. Although Modi’s whataboutery is shameful, the Congress too should have refrained from walking out. It is time that the Opposition coalition strategised on portraying itself as a viable alternative in the general elections.
S.K. Choudhury, Bengaluru
Sir — A vibrant democracy requires meaningful parliamentary debates to form policies, address problems and ensure the country’s welfare. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party has hit a new low by focusing only on outsmarting the Congress by recalling instances of misgovernance that had taken place while the Congress was in power. The speeches by the Union ministers, Smriti Irani and Amit Shah, gave the impression that the situation in Manipur is under control. The reality is starkly different.
Abhijit Roy, Jamshedpur
Sir — Unfortunately, during the no-confidence debate, Narendra Modi spoke on Manipur for just about five minutes and spent the rest of his long speech attacking the Congress, the Opposition coalition and previous governments. While the nation was waiting for him to address the state of affairs in Manipur, his speech merely sounded
like a campaign for the general elections and offered little hope for the strife-torn state.
Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai
Sir — Although the prime minister routinely preaches democratic ideals on his trips to other nations, it took a no-confidence motion for him to address the violence in Manipur. Even then, Narendra Modi paid lip service to Manipur, outlining no measures to remedy the situation. His speech was anything but adequate. The no-confidence motion has, once again, exposed the hollowness of the ‘double engine sarkar’.
P.K. Sharma, Barnala, Punjab
Sir — It is disappointing that the prime minister — often referred to as a visionary global leader — resorted to defaming erstwhile Congress leaders like Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru while skirting the topic of Manipur in his speech during the no-confidence debate.
Mahajan Rohan, Jammu
Safe habits
Sir — According to a latest report by the United Nations, climate change can have devastating impacts on agriculture, affecting crop production and livelihoods. Rapid urbanisation has caused the shrinkage of agricultural land, contributing to low production, poverty and malnutrition. Safe farming habits, such as sprinkler and drip irrigation, and maintaining soil quality should be practised urgently.
Ashraf Nawaz, Hyderabad
