MyVoice: Views of our readers 25th October 2021

Disabled harassed at airports

How the disabled are being harassed at airports has been brought to notice of all by actress and Bharatnatyam dancer Sudhaa Chandran when she was asked to remove her artificial limb each time when she goes through security 'grill' and the actress has appealed to PM to issue special cards to the disabled people similar to senior citizens which would save them from such harassment, stating that it "hurts". There is another class who face severe problems while traveling by air and under this class are covered persons suffering from Multiple Sclerosis and are hundred percent wheelchair bound. They are mentally harassed at three stages of traveling by air. First, while entering the airport it is very difficult to find wheelchair as well as wheelchair puller and if at all one is available heavy charges are taken though there are instructions not to charge any amount from the disabled. Secondly, in the name of security, the disabled are harassed to such a extent that a common man is compelled to think "whether he/she is living in a democratic country or in some military state." Thirdly, when one has to enter the plane, they he are totally harassed by the airline as they have to enter the plane last and have to wait for a long time. Being a disability activist myself, I had also written about this to the ministry of civil aviation.

Yash Pal Ralhan, Jalandhar

PM makes timely praise of health workers

That Prime Minister Modi praising all the health workers for the yeoman services rendered in completing of hundred crore jabs across the country in his Mann ki Baath programme is apt. The last-mile services are tough and very important in any national programme. The corona pandemic has brought a myriad of problems to a common health worker in addition to difficult terrains, vaccine hesitancy and such in their line of duty. The PM has boosted their morale by publicly recognising thier noble services. In these difficult times of economic slowdown, they should be given monetary rewards, based on their performance as token of gratitude that can help them practically.

Dr DVG Sankararao, Vizianagaram

Covid war far from over

Though it is no mean achievement for authorities to have administered 100 crore anti-Covid vaccines in the world's second most populous nation, and that the Prime Minister's pet concept of 'Make in India' has been given a thrust through the mega vaccination campaign, the battle against the pandemic is far from over. India has a huge responsibility to ensure that unsavory incidents associated with the peak of the second wave aren't repeated.

Dr George Jacob, Kochi.

PM mum on govt failures

The report that India completed 100 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccine is undoubtedly a proud moment for us, but projecting the same as Modi government's achievement is not fair (PM hails 100-cr jab feat, October 23). What is the need to address the nation on TV? Why Modi maintains studied silence on growing petrol prices, unemployment and bad loans in banks? Why no reaction about the criticisms on Pegasus Spyware, PM Care funds, new farm laws, and so on? It is amusing Modi government takes credit for positive news and cleverly hides its failures.

Kshirasagara Balaji Rao, Hyderabad

Pass all who take all exams

Anyhow the Telangana government is conducting Inter 1st year Board examinations, though it is devaluating its previous announcement of promoting all of them. The Board of Intermediate Education should pass all students who attempt all papers without fail, thus it can at least justify its insistence on conducting the exams.

SM Arif Hussain, Hyderabad

No haste for booster doses

Prime Minister interacting with vaccine manufacturers and exhorting them to institutionalise the best practices learnt during the last one-and-a-half years while also underlining the need to ramp up vaccination to cover up the remaining eligible population is encouraging. The ICMR and task force members endorsing the statement of PM by going on to add that India must focus on completing inoculation of the adult population with two doses before going for booster dose is absolutely correct, taking into view the ground reality that chances of a Covid wave as deadly and destructive as the second wave striking again are remote.

K R Srinivasan, Secunderabad

US must walk the talk on defending Taiwan

Refer to 'Will the US really walk the talk on Taiwan,' (THI, October 23). It is extremely reassuring that the US has unequivocally expressed support in favour of Taiwan in the event of an attack by China. Taiwan, too, is in the process of consolidating its military strength, to fight back in the event of adventurism by China to put up a tangible, and effective showdown against the country. With the US's support there is no doubt that Taiwan's self-confidence and innate strength to face the adversary will be improved. The professed support by the US in support of Taiwan must be long-term and reliable, unlike the former's commitment to countries earlier that had depended on the American support that proved unsustainable due to a variety of reasons, which left the countries in a quandary. Let us hope the sabre-rattling by China, on countries like India and others will be tamed to a great extent, paving the way for fair play and logical world order.

K V Raghuram, Wayanad

Aryan Khan paying price for being a celebrity kid

The case of Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) against superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan is very weak. Its reliance on Whatsapp chats which are inadmissible as evidence in a court of law and the 'confessional' statements of Aryan Khan's co-accused in custody made its motives suspect. Aryan Khan is paying the price for being Shah Rukh Khan's son. Instead of going after big drug traffickers, the NCB expends its time and energy on portraying Aryan Khan, Ananya Pandey and their buddies as drug users and peddlers. The NCB has not yet placed the details of the follow-up action taken subsequent to the seizure of 3,000 kilos of heroin at Mundra port, if any, in the public domain.

G David Milton, Maruthancode