Hot idea
Sir — Jon Rice sprinted a mile across California’s Death Valley in a scorching 53°Celsius wearing a stifling Darth Vader costume on the hottest day of the year so far. Although Rice’s race seemingly has nothing to do with climate change — his aim is to amuse passers-by — his idea could well be prescient. Given the increasingly warming planet, temperatures in several parts of the world might touch 53°Celsius in summers in the near future. In fact, this Poila Boisakh, the real feel in Calcutta was 53.3°Celsius. The day is not far when going to work might not be too different from Rice’s race.
Meghna Bose,Calcutta
Close contact
Sir — The two-day State visit of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, to France was all hype and no substance (“French toast”, July 18). Ahead of the visit, it was announced that the two countries would finalise several important defence deals — India was to purchase 26 Rafale-M jets and additional Scorpene-class diesel-electric submarines from France and jointly develop a jet engine. However, most of these agreements are yet to be concluded. This is comical because the Indian government had obtained prior approvals for these procurements before the prime minister embarked on his tour.
Both countries issued a final statement that was vaguely worded about the defence purchases. Worse, there is no mention of the Rafale-M deal in the disclosure. All this raises questions about the productivity of Modi’s visit.
Shovanlal Chakraborty,Calcutta
Sir — France has been one of India’s steadiest strategic partners. The recent visit of Narendra Modi to France saw the two countries agree on a collaborative effort to safeguard their interests in the Indo-Pacific region. Further, the roadmap envisages cooperation in several other fields, including nuclear development, Artificial Intelligence and combating cyber threats.
The symbolism of Modi’s presence at the Bastille Day celebrations and the joint strategies adopted prove that Paris is determined to retain its role as India’s closest ally in Europe. Evidently, the diplomatic strides made in France are no less significant than those made during the prime minister’s visit to Washington last month.
M.T. Farooqi,Hyderabad
Ruinous state
Sir — Arghya Sengupta’s article, “Former glory” (July 19), sheds light on the deteriorating socio-economic conditions in England. The author narrates his ordeal after landing at Heathrow airport to support his argument. Spiralling food inflationand crisis in public transport owing to strikes reveal the extent of Britain’s economic downturn. Important public institutions, such as the National Health Service, have been witnessing a similar erosion because of the lack of funding.
Further, Sengupta rues the dearth of political will to rescue England from this declinism. The government must boost investments and deploy scientific minds to restore England to its former glory.
Sukhendu Bhattacharjee,Hooghly
Deep waters
Sir — Climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruptions. The floods in North India are an example (“Water woes”, July 19). The government should take immediate steps to address the issue before it assumes dangerous proportions. Restrictions on unbridled construction activities, re-charging of groundwater and rejuvenating greenbelts can be undertaken to mitigate the harmful effects of global warming.
Fateh Najamuddin,Lucknow
Sir — It is heartening that the raging waters of Yamuna, which inundated several areas of Delhi, have receded. However, the stagnation of floodwater in many pockets of the national capital has raised the spectre of a deadly dengue outbreak in the coming months. The government should step up fogging in mosquito breeding grounds to prevent the spread of dengue.
Piyush Somani,Guwahati
Puppet agencies
Sir — The blatant misuse of Central agencies, such as the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation, by the ruling dispensation against Opposition leaders is deplorable. Ministers of non-Bharatiya Janata Party governments in states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Delhi are being increasingly targeted by these agencies.
The fact that the CBI and the ED have not arrested any BJP leader despite there being serious allegations against several of them indicates the partisan attitude of these agencies.
Tharcius S. Fernando,Chennai
Popular leader
Sir — With the demise of Oommen Chandy, the former chief minister of Kerala and a Congress stalwart, an era came to an end (“‘People’s CM’ Chandy no more”, July 19). Chandy was respected across the political spectrum. He was also known for his accessibility to party members, political rivals as well as ordinary people.
Calicut Krishnan Ramani,Kozhikode
