Food fight

Sir — It seems that political leaders of the day would rather eat than eat their words. The Trinamul Congress leader, Derek O’Brien, was recently seen tucking into plates of papri chaat to prove the innocuousness of his comment comparing the passing of bills in Parliament with making papri chaat. This remark has apparently offended the government so much that the Union minister, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, hit back by asking O’Brien to have fish curry — the dish is a Bengali staple — if he so preferred. At least O’Brien seems to be making amends; one wonders how Naqvi will get out of this soup.

Debdeep Kar,
Calcutta

Bold words

Sir — The chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, has asserted that investigation into the Pegasus snooping scandal “should definitely be done” (“Nitish backs Pegasus probe”, Aug 3). He heads the state government with the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has made its reluctance towards such a probe adequately clear. Kumar must be aware that his take on the matter is likely to have an adverse impact on the functioning of his government. But, as behoves a person of his stature, he has prioritized propriety over diplomacy.

The attitude of the Union government in dealing with the Pegasus imbroglio is intriguing. In the recent past, when Western media were vocal against the Indian government for allowing election rallies and gatherings — the Kumbh Mela is an example — thereby causing further spread of Covid-19 in the country, the ruling party had dubbed it an anti-India propaganda led by the foreigners. However, its response to the Pegasus case is strikingly different. Pegasus is a spyware of foreign origin. If it has indeed been used to infringe on the privacy of Indian citizens, why should the government turn down demands for an investigation and take it upon itself to protect some nefarious foreign country

Sanjit Ghatak,
South 24 Parganas

Sir — Nitish Kumar’s support for the Pegasus investigation is bound to have caused a lot of consternation in the BJP camp. Kumar is surely aware that he is still chief minister owing to the BJP’s support — the Janata Dal (United) had won fewer seats than its ally in the last assembly elections. This makes his decision an act of dare that is rather intriguing.

Perhaps Kumar is on a good wicket as most of the major allies that the BJP had have now left and it cannot afford to lose any more friends, especially as elections are due in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. It would be interesting to see how the other allies react to this provocation and take their own stands on the issue.

Anthony Henriques,
Mumbai

Sir — Many have read Nitish Kumar’s decision to back the Opposition’s claim for an investigation into the Pegasus spyware controversy as a sign of the BJP’s eventual fallout with yet another ally. But perhaps Kumar has other things in mind.

With the return of his rival, Lalu Prasad, in public view — the Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo made a speech after around four years at the silver jubilee celebration of his party — Kumar must have gathered that he needs to put his own house in order as soon as possible. What better way is there for him to begin than by strengthening his already-clean image — he is known as ‘sushasan babu’ in Bihar — and appearing righteous before his people?

Biswajit Chaki,
Howrah

Early signs

Sir — The ongoing protests in Iran as a result of a water crisis are a warning; the whole world is about to face an inevitable water shortage, which could lead to conflict, disease and even war. It is a fact that the elixir of life is fast depleting in many parts of the world.

Iran has witnessed unprecedented cases of strikes and now even death for water. Mismanagement of water, ignorance of its availability in various places, thoughtless construction of dams, careless maintenance of water bodies and lack of planning to save water are some factors that lead to water shortage. If these are attended to properly, water shortage can be prevented to some extent. Climate change, resulting in irregular rainfall, is another cause for this problem.

Water shortage can lead to mass migration of people, causing an imbalance in population. This would give rise to more problems — societal inequalities and tension at the regional, national or international levels.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, almost 350 million people living in 100 cities across the world are at immediate risk of a water crisis. Several Indian cities, too, fall in the ‘high-risk’ category. This should not be surprising. In recent years, many towns and metros have experienced severe water scarcity.

The South African city of Cape Town and the Indian city, Chennai, have recently become ‘water-wise’ — they have learnt to collect, conserve, and use water prudently. Such methods should be followed everywhere. Water conservation techniques, recycling of effluents, making mandatory water-harvesting methods mandatory, proper groundwater extraction, installing desalination plants, and stopping the encroachment of water bodies can also help avoid severe water scarcity.

M. Pradyu,
Kannur