MyVoice: Views of our readers 8th July 2023

Poor agri logistics bane of Indian farmers

The price rise of essential food items is not just due to the monsoon problem. India is the largest producer of vegetables and fruits in the world after China. There is a large diversity of crops, and they are grown in different agro-climatic conditions. This gives the country an advantage because if a crop fails in one area, it may succeed in another, ensuring a steady supply at all times. But this is possible only if there is good infrastructure and logistical support for storage and transportation of produce. Fruits and vegetables are especially sensitive to climate extremes. Tomatoes were impacted first by the heat waves, then unseasonal rains in Rajasthan, and later heavy rains in some regions. It is likely that the production of all crops will be adversely affected this year if El Nino impacts the monsoon.

N Sadhasiva Reddy, Washington

Core engg groups will bounce back

In the engineering stream, there are drastic changes taking place. The CSE and allied groups are one group and “Core Engineering” comprising Civil, Mechanical, EEE and ECE is the other group. The core group suffered because of its limitations. It is a temporary setback and would get its demand in future. Fortunately, the CSE has a big job market in India and abroad. Students are also fascinated by software jobs. US liberal policies on Indians and its job market attract our students for software engineering. There is a big demand of AI, Data Scientists, IoT with high pay in abroad. I hope that the engineering colleges would not remove the core group faculty because of temporary shortfall in admissions

D Kishan Prasad Rao, Karimnagar

Past wrongdoing catches up with Pawar

The political brawl between the Pawars coming into the open is a clear revelation that what Sharad Pawar did to remove former Chief Minister Vasantdada Patil from power 40 years ago is now haunting him, thereby driving him to face more or less the same situation. It does not come as a surprise at all. The irony of history repeating now with Sharad Pawar caught in a web after Ajit Pawar’s open bickering saying to senior Pawar “you are now 83 and at some point you need to stop” is no doubt opportunistic but at the same time it raises a pertinent question about parties hit by family feuds.

K R Srinivasan, Secunderabad

II

The split in NCP was inevitable and is not at all surprising. NCP under the leadership of Sharad Pawar as the party president over the decades paved the way for dynasty politics in which Ajit was being sidelined for the past 50 years. Similar fate awaits other parties that are into family rule in the country. Sharad Pawar should have considered these realities before the bund was breached. Sharad has decided in favour of his daughter to make her the heir apparent which irked others to rebel against the leadership. It is time for Sharad Pawar to retire from politics due to age and ill- health, and act as an advisor rather than proclaiming himself to be the party president and saying that age is no hurdle for him to continue in the post.

K R Venkata Narasimhan, Madurai

Old City of Hyd very much needs Metro

This has reference to Hyderabad Metro backing out on the Old City extension of its services. They have given two reasons and one suspects that there may be some other reason not privy to the common man in this dog-eat-dog world. It is heartening to note the courage in KTR accepting the mistake on the part of the government in not enabling the last mile connectivity. The promised Old City connectivity should not be shelved under the guise of economic viability. Last mile connectivity to a great extent has been solved by the people themselves with family members picking up their kin from the nearest metro station. But not all may have such a facility. Politically, has BRS given up Old City seats to dare shelve this unfinished project?

D Nagarjuna, Hyderabad

BJP goes for soft face in TS

Surprisingly BJP changed the party unit presidents both in AP and in TS. In AP it wants to satisfy the major communities by appointing D Purandeswari as president of its state unit, taking former united Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.Kiran Kumar Reddy into national executive committee and continuing alliance with the JSP. The new president has her own clout due to her lineage. But in TS, G Kishan Reddy was made the state unit president of TS. It is believed that Reddy was awarded third time with the post for his hard work and sincerity. He is also called ‘Aajathashatru’ which may prove the open remark of the Congress that BRS is BJP’s ‘B’ team. Anyway, the ensuing elections will be litmus test for new appointees.

Pratapa Reddy Y, Tiruvuru (AP)