Letters to the Editor: Food wastage leads to hunger

Food wastage leads to hunger

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has rightly said that India can play a key role in solving global hunger and malnutrition with the power of its robust agriculture sector. Your editorial 'Food wastage & hunger' published in your esteemed daily on August 5 has pointed out that unless we Indians change our mindset that we can waste food deliberately because we have paid for it while eating out, we cannot emerge as a food-surplus country. Whether outside or at home, we must be aware of the fact that wastage of everything, especially food, is a serious crime as it hits the economy and causes our beautiful planet to suffer immensely. In fact, most people at fat Indian weddings and parties think that taking different items of food on the plate is more important than having them. It is nothing but our expression of greediness, which is a sin. One must keep in mind that one should eat according to capacity. There are so many poor people around us who are hungry and running from pillar to post for a square meal. If we keep on wasting food, how can we solve the problem of hunger and malnutrition amidst the challenges posed by climate change? India is among the fastest-growing economies, and yet we are providing free food rations to 81 crore people. This is due to concerns about their food security. The free food also adds to their "income,"  although it is not in the form of cash but in kind. The PM's utterance to achieve the target of 12.3 of the Substantial Development Goals (SDG) by reducing half the per capita global food waste by 2030 can be made possible by reducing food loss and waste and improving food security and nutrition. The reports that one-third of all foods produced in India get wasted or spoilt annually show our lack of awareness and our carelessness. Now, this malpractice needs to be checked if India is to be a developed country by 2047.Instead of throwing away food, we should eat less. This is a simple yet important step to living a sustainable and low-waste lifestyle. Our conscious food choices will help reduce our environmental impact, promoting us as a more resilient community and encouraging positive change.

Iqbal Saikia,

Guwahati. 

Eradicating corruption

Recently, the state government directed all ACS officers to submit asset liability statements. According to media reports, many officers have not yet complied with this government diktat. Having decided to take this laudable step as a measure to eradicate corruption in government, it should not backtrack from this position by succumbing to pressure from bureaucratic lobbies. In fact, the government should insist that the asset liability statements should be mandatorily filed every year within a timeline, say within a month of the closure of the financial year. This vital statement should be scrutinized by another officer one notch above the rank of the officer submitting the statement or his or her reporting authority. Asset and liability statements should fall under the ambit of the RTI Act.

It is strange that the state government has to issue advisors to senior officers to submit asset liability statements, as this should have been a routine affair and ought to be part and parcel of their service rules and conditions. Such statements come in handy during Vigilance enquiries or any case filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, both for the prosecution and the defendant.

It remains to be seen how the BJP government, which claims to be a transparent and clean regime, deals with the issue of bureaucracy's reluctance to reveal their personal wealth. The citizens have a right to know how honest their public servants are.

Rajib Sarma

Guwahati 

Blinding headlights

Blinding headlights are one of the primary causes of road accidents in India. A driver can be blinded by the opposite vehicles as well as the rear ones. Dippers are hardly used in cities nowadays. On average, glaring headlights are direct or contributory causes of 75 percent of vehicular collisions in India. Of course, high beam lights are useful in low visibility when there are few or no street lights. However, rules say high beams can be employed by drivers only if there are no oncoming vehicles, but not many drivers are sticklers for rules. Rear vehicles can distract the front drivers' vision by using bright lights within 60 metres. It has become a fashion for several youngsters, especially in small towns and cities with no one to keep a hawk's eye on them, to use ornamental illumination like flashy headlights.

Flickers, Light-emitting diodes (LED)  and their variants are freely used by irresponsible drivers who seem to believe more in style than safety. Section 177 of the Motor Vehicles Act (MVA)  explicitly details the proper and improper use of headlights. Contrary to popular belief, turning bright lights on is dangerous, even in foggy conditions. Many drivers, especially the non-professional ones, are oblivious to the correct usage of headlights, and this can mainly be blamed on the poor quality of driving schools and doling out licenses by the authorities without proper application of mind. Additionally, no employer seems to care much about the driving abilities of the drivers they hire.

Dr Ganapathi Bhat 

gbhat13@gmail.com