Joyride

Sir — Books can certainly enliven a boring journey. In a novel initiative, Uber has launched a campaign where commuters travelling in the company’s shuttle buses can read books by Penguin Random House India that will be available on the vehicles. If more readers start pooling transport, it can greatly reduce air pollution caused by personal vehicles. Be it blaring popular Bengali films in long-distance buses in rural Bengal, playing episodes from Tom and Jerry in the Calcutta Metro or letting passengers read bestsellers on Uber shuttles, keeping travellers entertained is no mean feat.

Shreya Chatterjee, Calcutta

Divisive law

Sir — The Yogi Aditya­nath government in Uttar Pradesh has added teeth to the existing law against unlawful religious conversion (“Out of law”, Aug 6). The constitutional right to freedom of religion entails the right not just to practise one’s faith but also to propagate it. Yet, all religious conversions are assumed to be coerced and illegal. Those who are thought to be converting others to another religion or to be involved in such conversions are being treated as criminals. These offences are cognisable and non-bailable under the new law. This amendment is no doubt a fallout of the alleged tussle between the Bharatiya Janata Party’s central leadership and Adityanath.

S.S. Paul, Nadia

Sir — While forced or deceptive religious conversions must not be condoned, the punishment for it should not be this harsh. This new law exposes the hypocrisy of the Uttar Pradesh government, which turns a blind eye to the hooliganism of the kanwariyas. Moreover, important issues such as waterlogging in the state assembly premises have not been addressed by the government. Yogi Adityanath is merely trying to win back Hindu votes by passing strict laws against religious conversion.

Anthony Henriques, Mumbai

Sir — The faction of the BJP that backs Yogi Aditya­nath seems bent on taking an extreme communal position to upstage the Central leadership. The Uttar Pradesh government had recently issued a controversial order regarding eateries along the kanwar yatra route. Such steps do not augur well for democracy.

Khokan Das, Calcutta

Unsafe lessons

Sir — Aspirants for exams conducted by the Union Public Ser­vice Commission will breathe a sigh of relief as the Supreme Court has taken cognisance of the failure of various coaching centres in providing safety and security to students, resulting in the unfortunate demise of three aspirants recently (“SC orders coaching centre safety drive”, Aug 6). It is astonishing how coaching centres that do not have adequate safety infrastructure were allowed to operate. Authorities should be held accountable for their gross negligence and punished.

Arun Gupta, Calcutta

Sir — The death of three UPSC aspirants brought to light the fact that famous coaching centres across the country often flout building codes and economically exploit students. Thousands of youth flock to Delhi to fulfil their dreams of becoming civil servants. However, they are fleeced by coaching centres that take undue advantage of students without providing them with basic amenities. The apex court’s order regarding students’ safety is thus timely.

S.H. Quadri, Bikaner

Smart plan

Sir — Succession planning is a tricky task for family-owned businesses (“Adani ready with succession plan”, Aug 6). For instance, the dirty laun­dry of the Ambani family was aired in public when Dhirubhai Ambani’s busi­nesses were divided between Anil and Mukesh Ambani. Few families can claim to have handled this situation gracefully. Gautam Adani has drawn out a detailed succession plan for his sons and nephews. Since his successors will handle different businesses, one hopes that the Adani Group does not suffer from internal strife.

Bal Govind, Noida

Identity crisis

Sir — The Central Bureau of Investigation has register­ed a comp­laint against and busted an Aadhaar racket in Rajasthan (“Aadh­aar racket busted”, Aug 4). Three people were found making illegal Aadhaar cards using forged documents and fingerprints. The fingerprints and retinal scans that were used allegedly belonged to school children. This is a grave problem. It may allow foreign nationals to infiltrate and reside in India and avail of welfare facilities. This racket should be investigated thoroughly for any political connections.

Birkha Khadka Duvarseli, Siliguri

Bland taste

Sir — For Bengalis, the combination of muri, tele­bhaja and knacha lonka is a staple during rainy evenings. But with the hike in the price of green chilis, Bengalis may have to ditch their favourite snack this monsoon (“Supply home truths keep chili-ginger prices high”, Aug 1).

Sourish Misra, Calcutta