Mask up

Sir — Centrally air-conditioned office buildings are common features of urban jungles. Those who believe that the climate-controlled environments of their offices offer a refuge from the toxic fumes of vehicular traffic and the particulate matter in the city’s air are sorely mistaken. A recent study of 30 air-conditioned office buildings in India found that the average carbon dioxide levels and the PM2.5 levels inside these buildings exceed ideal limits in most cases. Pollution has clearly brought the world to a tipping point where technology, too, can no longer keep up with worsening air quality standards. Will the constant usage of gas masks become inevitable in the near future?

Shrabani Ghosh, Calcutta

In distress

Sir — The Union government’s reluctance to accede to the demands made by the farmers during the protests of 2021 has left them with little option but to relaunch their movement. Back then, the prime minister, Narendra Modi, had been prudent enough to repeal the three controversial farm laws. But if the Union government indeed had farmers’ interests in mind, it would have promptly implemented the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission and enacted a law to guarantee minimum support prices for agricultural produce, arranged for sufficient monthly pensions for farmers and waived off their loans, among other measures.

Farmers are justified in stating that their livelihoods are in peril due to the rising cost of living and the falling prices of produce. Instead of helping them, the government is issuing prohibitory orders, beefing up security and shutting down internet services to stop farmers from reaching Delhi. Modi had promised to look after farmers’ welfare but has not walked the talk. Moreover, the government’s honour for M.S. Swaminathan — he was awarded the Bharat Ratna recently — seems hollow since it is not implementing his suggestions.

G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Sir — Many newspapers have carried front-page headlines and pictures depicting Delhi being turned into a ‘fortress’ owing to the farmers’ stir (“Off Delhi, you farmers!”, Feb 12). Apart from barricades, rolls of barbed wire have been laid out to stop the entry of the farmers’ vehicles into Delhi. It is reprehensible that the government believes it is necessary to keep citizens away from the national capital through such authoritarian means, that too for the second time in recent years. The same farmers who are hailed as the nation’s providers were derided and mocked by the saffron ecosystem and forced to camp on the road in inclement conditions the last time they protested. The Bharat Ratna for Chaudhary Charan Singh, purportedly for championing the cause of farmers, is thus a sham meant to gain votes.

S. Kamat, Mysuru

Sir — The farmers’ demand for guaranteed MSPs has remained unaddressed for a long time. It is strange that the government has not accepted their legitimate demands. Even as the government fortifies the borders of Delhi against the arrival of farmers, the Union minister for agriculture has claimed that the government is open to talks with them (“Farm protesters close in on Delhi”, Feb 13). Agriculture is the backbone of the economy and the Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to lose a sizeable chunk of votes from this distressed community if its demands are not met.

S.S. Paul, Nadia

Sir — The farmers’ movement in parts of Europe has its roots in the Common Agricultural Policy, a subsidy programme which has underpinned Europe’s food security system for the last six decades (“Long marches”, Feb 13). Between 2005 and 2020, the number of farms in the European Union has decreased by around 37%, leaving many larger farms with diminishing profit margins while smaller ones have often failed completely. The European Green Deal, which includes a ‘farm to fork’ plan that aimed to make the bloc climate neutral by 2050, has proposed numerous restrictions — something which has further angered farmers who fear that eco-friendly progress will come at the expense of their livelihoods.

Arka Goswami, Durgapur

Diplomatic win

Sir — The release of eight former Indian navy personnel who had earlier been sentenced to death by a Qatar court and later put in prison is a commendable victory for India’s patient diplomacy (“Delivered via diplomatic bag”, Feb 13). While the charges against the Indian citizens who were employees of a Doha-based private company were not made public, media reports speculated that they were accused of spying for Israel. The peaceful resolution of the case is an indicator of the strong bilateral ties between India and Qatar in recent years. The multi-billion dollar agreement to import liquefied natural gas from Qatar is another example.

M. Jeyaram, Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu

Sir — The release of the eight Indian nationals imprisoned in Qatar is an encouraging development. Engaging with rulers of the Gulf nations requires a moderate approach and the prime minister, Narendra Modi, deserves praise for pulling it off. Since Qatar hosts some of Hamas’ political leadership and the Indians were allegedly accused of spying for Israel, the implications of them being sentenced to death would have been complicated. New Delhi must ensure that such incidents do not recur.

Gregory Fernandes, Mumbai

Sir — Eight former navy personnel who had been detained in Qatar have been released and seven of them have returned to India. The decision by Qatar is a diplomatic win for India, coming a few weeks after Narendra Modi’s meeting with the
Emir of Qatar on the sidelines of the CoP-28 summit in Dubai.

Tauqeer Rahmani, Mumbai