Not so ‘pawfect’

Sir — Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport has come up with a ‘Pawfect’ scheme. A pack of nine dogs will greet passengers travelling through Terminal 2 of the airport at the departures area from 3 pm on Friday to 11 pm on Sunday. A warm, furry welcome and wagging tails can certainly uplift the spirits of people, except perhaps of those who are scared of dogs or allergic to them. Moreover, cat parents travelling with their pets — for whom they are required to pay a hefty fee to the airline authorities — might take an exception to this initiative too. The enmity between cats and dogs is a tale as old as time so the Pawfect initiative, while bringing delight to many, might also provoke a few snarls.

Roshni Gupta, Calcutta

Tragedy strikes

Sir — The death of 10 newborn babies at the neonatal intensive care unit of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, due to a fire is devastating (“Hospital fire kills 10 infants”, Nov 16). A similar incident took place in Delhi just a few months ago. Fire drills, training the staff of hospitals and other establishments to deal with emergencies and all necessary precautions must be taken to prevent such accidents in the future.

M. Pradyu, Kannur

Sir — Sheer negligence on the part of the hospital authorities led to the demise of newborn babies in Jhansi. Although it seems like a short circuit led to the fire, it is essential to establish the exact reason why it occurred. The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, has rightly directed the authorities to investigate the matter and take serious action against the guilty.

Jayanta Datta, Hooghly

Sir — To prevent fire accidents, an effective fire management system with fire extinguishers, safety alarms, pressurised fire hydrants and proper fire exits should be in place. Fire-fighting personnel must also be at hand to ensure the timely evacuation of people in case of a fire emergency.

Ramesh G. Jethwani, Bengaluru

Sir — Politicians never visit hospitals unless something is gravely wrong. They wait for tragedies to occur and then arrive to make insincere promises to hapless citizens. While a high-level committee has been formed by the Uttar Pradesh government to investigate the fire incident at Jhansi which resulted in the death of 10 infants, it is unlikely that this will make a positive difference. This incident will soon be forgotten like the others before it.

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad

Sir —It has been alleged that the Jhansi hospital fire was caused by the state government’s incompetency (“Four-member panel to probe hospital fire”, Nov 17). A four-member committee has been appointed to probe the incident and Yogi Adityanath has offered financial assistance to the grieving families.

Khokan Das, Calcutta

Dangerous policy

Sir — The interim government in Bangladesh under the leadership of Muhammad Yunus has waived off mandatory physical inspections of Pakistani imports (“Dhaka waives Pak import scan as arms flow”, Nov 16). While ostensibly aimed at expediting the clearance processes, this decision ignites security concerns amidst the rising tide of extremism and instability in Bangladesh following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina Wazed government. This policy, coupled with the resumption of direct maritime links between Bangladesh and Pakistan, threatens to destabilise the region.

Dhananjay Sinha, Calcutta

Sir — By scrapping mandatory physical inspection of goods from Pakistan, the interim government of Bangladesh is playing with fire. That the waiver has come at a juncture when Bangladesh is going through uncertain times ought to ring alarm bells for India. This period may reshape the diplomatic ties in the region.

Avinash Godboley, Dewas, Madhya Pradesh

Sir — India is right to be apprehensive about the sudden development in maritime relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh. The political climate in the region has changed to a great extent.

Murtaza Ahmad, Calcutta

Imbalanced scale

Sir — Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not delivered on his promise of strengthening the rupee (“Roiled rupee”, Nov 16). With Donald Trump elected president in the United States of America, the dollar is likely to grow stronger, throwing the Indian economy into a tailspin. But the governor of the Reserve Bank of India remains unbothered.

Anthony Henriques, Mumbai

Priceless gift

Sir — “The gold standard” by Gopalkrishna Gandhi was a lovely article. Rabindranath Tagore, 1861-1961: A Centenary Volume is a collection of glowing tributes to Tagore by many extraordinary people from around the world. The tribute by Gandhi to this volume is a gem in itself.

The article reminded me of an incident that I cherish. Around 20 years ago, I was invited to Calcutta to speak at an event. During my speech, I was deeply conscious that I was in a land where Tagore is worshipped. As is my wont, I quoted Tagore a couple of times during my talk.

A couple of months later, to my great delight, I received three volumes of The English Writings Of Rabindranath Tagore published by Sahitya Akademi and with an introduction by U.R. Anantha Murthy. What is touching is that it was sent by a Good Samaritan who was in the audience during my talk. He was so moved by the fact that someone from southern India loved Tagore that he sent a priceless gift without seeking any recognition.

G.R. Gopinath, Bengaluru