MyVoice: Views of our readers 11th May 2022

BJP and Andhra politics

It's beyond comprehension that BJP feels that it's going to form government in Andhra Pradesh. A cursory glance at the voting pattern shows that it doesn't have support of even NOTA but still confident of coming to power. It appears that the party is working to see that no party gets absolute majority and then use the wherewithal at its command and rope in other parties to join BJP on their own volition. This it feels can enable it to stake claim to form the government with the Governor's office willing to do the needful. What a game plan!

D S P Rao, Kakinada

LPG price uncontrollable

It seems the Government is determined to render the common man's efforts to make both ends meet an exercise in vain, with the 14.2 kg domestic LPG cylinder now costing more than Rs. 1,000 in many cities, after its price was hiked by Rs. 50 on Saturday. This is nothing but a cruel blow on the common man, already reeling under the cascading effect of surging fuel prices.

Dr George Jacob, Kochi

Worrying Lankan status

Sri Lanka is one of the most splendid, picturesque and paradisiacal islands on earth; it is home to about 22 million people. It was long known for its ethnic conflict worldwide. Today the island nation is in the news for being in a state of political turmoil and economic crisis like never before. The situation is so grave that it is hard to tell how the neighbouring country is going to grapple with it and emerge with a measure of success. The violence in the streets of Colombo and elsewhere, the declaration of a state of emergency and the enforcement of nationwide curfew, not to speak of an eerie sense of uncertainty, bespeak how grim the situation is.

It is a self-evident truth that the youth-driven anti-government protests have been fueled by acute food, medicine, and fuel and cooking gas shortages, long hours of power cuts and job losses and enormous foreign debt load brought about by Gotabaya Rajapaksa regime's economic mismanagement of the worst kind. Since the decisions that led to the present dire situation were all taken by the Rajapaksa brothers, the buck ought to stop with them. People cutting across the traditional boundaries of ethnicity and religion are now up in arms against the Rajapaksas - they rode to power on the back of a 'fierce nationalist agenda' - as their misrule has pushed them to the brink of survival. The Rajapaksa dynasty finally seems to meet their nemesis; Mahinda Rajapaksa had to quit as Prime Minister and seek protection in a naval base; Gotabaya's ejection from power appears to be imminent. Nevertheless, more important than the fate of the Rajapaksa is the future of Sri Lanka. The island nation needs political stability and economic recovery, goals that are not unachievable, provided its people and political leadership show enough will and wisdom, for a return to normality.

G David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Baseless bias

Bandi Sanjay's threat to Group I aspirants who are intending to write in Urdu medium is not only unfair but also against the Constitution. How can he suspect the Urdu evaluators of preferences and prejudices? The exam is conducted in a no-nonsense manner and how can the MP be so sure that so and so will be selected while others may be at a disadvantage. Tomorrow, there will be objections from other language people ultimately demanding that everything be in English or Hindi and no other languages. The BJP high command should reign in Bandi Sanjay before he further damages the reputation of the party. Ultimately, every controversy ends up in courts and at the end of the day job aspirants are the losers. It is not fair to discourage hard working job aspirants writing in their preferred languages as listed in the Constitution, more so when it is highly competitive and is in the ratio of 1: 1000s. Only handful of people struggle to get government jobs in this ocean of unemployment. Bandi Sanjay should also know that many Muslims are self - employed in line with the encouragement given by Modi to be job givers and not job seekers.

D Nagarjuna, Hyderabad

Unsafe food served in Kerala hotels

Many eateries including restaurants in many parts of Kerala have been shut down and notices issued to a large number of food outlets by the health departments of the various districts as a result of the death of a teenager who succumbed to heavy food poisoning after consuming shawarma from a food outlet in Kasaragod district.

The health department has noted that some of the eateries in major cities like Kochi, Kozhikode and Kannur and in many other towns were preparing food in unhygienic conditions, dilapidated and unclean kitchens, stored in unhygienic store rooms and freezers . The Food Safety department also noticed that many of the restaurants were functioning without licence and employing workers without health card. Food inspectors were shocked to find food items and especially meat stored in refrigerators all mixed up together with cooked and uncooked items. The incident has brought into sharp focus the importance of maintaining utmost hygiene and care when preparing and handling food. Not only in Kerala , such tragedies do often occur in many parts of our country but unfortunately it doesn't make to the headlines often .Though a hue and cry is made when such mishaps occur and the authorities swing into action once everything settles down and people forget the incident it is back to square one and food eateries come out with all sorts of contaminated food items pushing people to health problems. It is high time the states and the Centre make their food safety departments alert , implement strict rules and regulations in food making and distribution and also make the public aware of such fatalities that can be prevented and avoided if the officials and the public are vigilant .

M Pradyu, Kannur