Keep scrolling

Sir — Too much of anything is not good. In this age of content, one can keep scrolling infinitely without running out of new things. People now have access to more videos, movies and television shows than anyone can watch in a lifetime. Yet, why is it that there never seems to be anything good to immerse oneself in? According to a research paper published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, the plethora of choices and the ability to reject content within seconds, be it music, videos, podcasts and so on, are causing people to feel bored. This is not just a problem of plenty — algorithms are programmed to bombard people with options and not allow anything to catch their attention. After all, Big Tech makes most of its money by keeping people bored and scrolling.

Teesta Roychowdhury, Calcutta

Placatory gesture

Sir — The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is clearly trying to make amends for the past. Before the Lok Sabha elections, it had taken a strong stance against sanatana dharma. Now it wants to woo Hindu voters by inaugurating the two-day Global Muthamizh Murugan Conference. The chief minister of Tamil Nadu, M.K. Stalin, is playing the religion card to the DMK’s advantage. One hopes that Stalin’s newfound alliance with Lord Murugan may be beneficial for the state.

A.P. Thiruvadi, Chennai

Sir — The DMK government in Tamil Nadu is usually known for its anti-Hindu stance. Its inauguration of the Global Muthamizh Murugan Conference thus raises eyebrows. Are the celebrations merely to garner Hindu votes before the 2026 assembly elections or to get closer to the dispensation at the Centre? The latter speculation is bolstered by the fact that M.K. Stalin was heard singing praises of the prime minister and the Union defence minister at a recent event.

Gopalaswamy J., Chennai

Take precautions

Sir — Given the looming threat of monkeypox becoming a global health crisis, governments need to step up sanitation protocols (“Second storm”, Aug 26). Moreover, resources need to be allocated to research and development of vaccines so that there is an ample supply for the entire world. Covid-19 taught us valuable lessons on being pre-emptive about stopping the spread of the virus. One hopes that world leaders do not repeat past mistakes, one of which is to ignore the inoculation of poorer countries that become hotbeds for the virus to mutate into new, deadlier strains. This must not be allowed to happen with mpox.

Sachidananda Satpathy, Sambalpur

Sir — The Clade 1B variant of mpox is spreading at a rate that is concerning. Although it is endemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the moment, it has spread to several other countries already. This is why the World Health Organization declared it a public health emergency of international concern. Experts are worried that the overburdened healthcare infrastructure around the world is not capable of dealing with another pandemic. While a vaccine does exist for mpox, scientists must focus on developing better vaccines keeping in mind the ability of the virus to mutate.

The first step to combat this disease is to mobilise the public healthcare system on a war footing. Rich countries should share their resources with underdeveloped nations. This is a disease that needs to be battled together.

Arka Goswami, Burdwan

Big bully

Sir — The peace deal that negotiators from Israel, the United States of America, Egypt and Qatar have been trying to broker to ensure the release of Israeli hostages, the freeing of Palestinian detainees, and a ceasefire seems slated to fail. The conditions set by Israel are understandably not acceptable to Hamas. The Palestinian group has said that Israel not only backed away from its commitment to withdraw troops from the Philadelphi corridor but has also put forth new conditions, including screening of displaced Palestinians when the ceasefire begins. Israel does not want to give Palestinians concessions of any kind.

Although this may delay the peace process, Hamas has taken the right step. Almost the entire Gaza Strip has been turned into ruins and close to 50,000 Palestinians have been butchered. As such, to accept Israel’s tyrannical demands would be shameful. Israel needs to be backed into a corner by the international community, especially the US.

Jang Bahadur Singh, Jamshedpur

Sir — The recent escalation of tension between Israel and Hezbollah is a looming threat in the Middle East. All parties engaged in this destructive war must find a way to work out a truce and abide by the Geneva Convention of 1949.

Prasun Kumar Dutta, West Midnapore

Ball game

Sir — The ball was changed on the third day of the recently-concluded Test match between Sri Lanka and England at Old Trafford. Before the change, Sri Lanka was clearly in command of the match. But the new ball completely changed the direction of the match. In 2023, a similar controversial decision had been taken at the Oval Test against Australia. Once again, the ball change tilted the match in England’s favour. India is going to tour England in 2025 and should keep an eye out for such tricks by the English side.

M.N. Gupta, Hooghly

Danger zone

Sir — The blast at a plant in the Atchutapuram Special Economic Zone in Anakapalli district, Andhra Pradesh, is the worst industrial accident in the region in recent times. Seventeen workers have died and many have been injured. The lack of compliance with safety norms in SEZs needs to be investigated.

Piyush Naik, Hyderabad