Funny taste

Sir — Necessity is the mother of invention. The price of chillies has skyrocketed in Calcutta and is touching Rs 400 per kg in various markets across the city. In some places, it is even costlier than fish, one of the most prized commodities in Bengali kitchens. Inflation has affected the price of other staples like ginger and tomatoes too. Although most of these vegetables originated in foreign countries, it is difficult to imagine a Bengali meal without tomatoes and chillies these days. But there is a greater victim of this price inflation — the humble phuchka. Since the primary ingredients that give phuchkas their signature taste have become pricey, phuchkawalas have taken to ‘inventing’ unheard of flavours like chocolate and chicken phuchkas to cut down on costs.

Snigdha Datta,Calcutta

Hungry for power

Sir — The Bharatiya Janata Party has driven a wedge in yet another political party, even though it was already in power in Maharashtra this time (“Ajit deputy CM in Modi flip-flop”, July 3). Its decision to get members from the Nationalist Congress Party on its side might be motivated by the fact that the Speaker of the legislative assembly will soon be making a decision on whether the turncoats from the ShivSena who allowed the BJP to come to power will be disqualified. The Supreme Court has already declared the former governor’s decision to call a floor test illegal, but has left the final decision with the Speaker. However, the BJP’s desperation to clingon to power might prove costly for it in the next assembly elections in Maharashtra.

Bhagwan Thadani,Mumbai

Sir — Democratic processes seem to hold no meaning in Maharashtra. The BJP always finds ways to crawl back to power irrespective of the popular verdict. The saffron party has no qualms about poaching members of the legislative assembly from the Opposition, be it with the promise of better posts or the threat of investigations and tax raids.

The prime minister, Narendra Modi, had previously called the NCP corrupt and the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, had sworn to send Ajit Pawar to prison. It is thus embarrassing for the BJP to now embrace Pawar and the MLAs who have followed him out of the NCP. The Congress has rightfully called the BJPa “washing machine” that inducts leaders with corruption charges to absolve them of all wrongdoings (“BJP washing machine at play: Congress”, July 3).

Zakir Hussain,Kazipet, Telangana

Sir — The BJP has successfully pulled off ‘Operation Lotus’ twice in Maharashtra now, splitting two regional parties, the Shiv Sena and the NCP. The BJP, which has 105 out of the 288 seats in the legislative assembly, has continuously exploited differences within regional parties to derive electoral success.

Khokan Das,Calcutta

Sir — Appointing Ajit Pawar as a deputy chief minister will not serve the BJP in the long run. It will no doubt help the BJP stay in power for the time being, but it has been exposed as an unscrupulous party.

Jayanta Datta,Hooghly

Fatal apathy

Sir — The railways ministry does not seem to have taken any lessons from the train tragedy in Odisha that claimed several lives. The Muzaffarpur-Mumbai Pawan Express had a close shave when one of its coaches ran with a broken wheel for almost 10 kms before passengers alerted the guard and the driver. It is sad that the authorities are more invested in high-speed trains than those that ferry lakhs of passengers every day.

Piyush Somani,Guwahati

Consume with care

Sir — Antibiotic resistance has become a major challenge when it comes to treating patients with infections (“Drug abuse”, July 3). While antibiotic resistance has been on the rise, the discovery of newer drugs has been declining. It leads to increased medical costs, longer treatment procedures, and higher mortality rates. Proper guidelines should be followed before prescribing antibiotics. The onus to reduce dependence on these drugs is on doctors as well as on the public.

Vinay Asawa,Howrah

Sir — India is one of the hubs of antimicrobial resistance owing to the overuse of antibiotics, which can be easily purchased over the counter. By 2050, AMR will result in more deaths than cancer annually and can cost the global economy up to $100 trillion. Antibiotics are a precious resource. Overconsumption of antibiotics and its extensive use in animal husbandry are putting humans at risk. Strict enforcement of pollution control laws against discharging pharmaceutical waste into water bodies or dump yards, which contributes significantly to AMR, is also the need of the hour.

H.N. Ramakrishna,Bengaluru

Preventive action

Sir — It is laudable that the Calcutta Police headquarters has ordered police stations to shift seized vehicles lying out in the open in order to prevent dengue outbreaks (“Shift seized vehicles: Lalbazar to cops”, July 3). These vehicles accumulate water and turn into breeding grounds for mosquitoes during the monsoons. The Calcutta Municipal Corporation is also taking preventive action against water logging in several areas. Other civic bodies should follow suit.

Ananda Dulal Ghosh,Howrah

Ugly sight

Sir — Few candidates bother to remove their campaign material such as hoardings, bills and posters after the elections. This adds to visual pollution. One hopes that preventive steps will be taken after the upcoming panchayat elections are over.

Sourish Misra,Calcutta