Going local
Sir — Self-proclaimed weather experts have gained popularity on social media as people’s mistrust in the meteorological department has grown owing to climate change-induced extreme weather events. For centuries, indigenous and local methods of weather forecasting — be it looking at the farmer’s almanac or ‘reading the local flora’ as the Sumi tribe of Nagaland does — have helped agriculturalists. The internet has now brought these weathermen wider audiences. However, such methods only work on a very narrow scale. Following them without caution about one’s location can do more harm than good.
Ruhi Adhya, Calcutta
Lost value
Sir — The 2000-rupee note never became popular and it is not surprising that the Reserve Bank of India has decided to withdraw it (“Mitron, kiss goodbye toRs 2000”, May 20). Although the demonetisation of the old 500-rupee and the 1000-rupee currency notes in 2016 was done to weed out black money, it yielded little to no result. Given that the newly-minted 2000-rupee notes lasted only eight years, questions are bound to arise about the myopia of government policies.
Khokan Das, Calcutta
Sir — The RBI’s decision to withdraw 2000-rupee notes from circulation will be beneficial. In 2016, the 2000-rupee note was introduced under Section 24(1) of the RBI Act, 1934 to meet the currency requirements of the country after demonetisation and was printed till 2018-19. The majority of these notes are at the end of their four to five-year lifespan. Although demonetisation causes inconvenience to the people, it is necessary to target corrupt practices. In 2022, the government had amassed Rs 6.73 trillion in income tax, which is more than twice the amount that was collected before demonetisation.
Diganta Chakraborty, Hooghly
Sir — The decision to withdraw 2000-rupee notes from circulation proves that demonetisation was a failed exercise. It disrupted lives across the country and failed to curb the flow of black money as predicted.
Bhagwan Thadani, Mumbai
Red eyes
Sir — The European Union’s foreign and security policy chief, Josep Borrell, has stated that the grouping should consider restricting the import of Indian petroleum products made from oil purchased from Russia. Such a public statement just after the first meeting of the EU-India Trade and Technology Council suggests that Brussels is discontented with India’s neutral position on the Ukraine war. But such neutrality makes economic sense for the country.
Surendra Panagariya, Bengaluru
Balanced act
Sir — Both the Karnataka election campaign and the selection process of the chief minister showed the remarkable political skills of the Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge, and the two regional strongmen, D.K. Shivakumar and P.C. Siddaramaiah (“Fine balance”, May 19). Siddaramaiah is a veteran politician and Shivakumar is an organisational wizard who has faced several odds while remaining loyal to the Congress. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s misgovernance and corruption had created discontent across the state. Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar must work in unison to ensure there is transparency in governance.
S.S. Paul, Nadia
Sir — The quick and amicable resolution of the leadership tussle in Karnataka should inspire the Congress to settle matters in Rajasthan between the chief minister, Ashok Gehlot, and Sachin Pilot. It is imperative for the Congress to ensure proper governance to strengthen its position before the general elections of 2024.
Gregory Fernandes, Mumbai
