Letters to the EDITOR: Take the Bull by the Horns

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 Take the bull by the horns

Right now, US President Trump is behaving like a rampaging bull, imposing high tariffs against countries not serving his purposes. India and China in particular are the victims. The reason behind President Trump's punitive measures against India and China is for buying Russian crude oil because the USA has imposed a ban on buying Russian crude oil. In the meantime, India too has snubbed Trump’s tariff threat. The then USSR, now Russia, stood by India in the time of need. Russia is also close to China diplomatically and militarily. Hence, Russia may take an initiative to bring India and China close together. If this move succeeds, it will be easy to take the bull by the horns. In today’s global politics everything is possible with proper diplomatic brainwork. The Russia, China, and India bloc can be the answer to President Trump’s hegemony. All his trump cards will be checked. So why not give it a try?

Dr. Ashim Chowdhury,

Guwahati

Remove blockage of Barsapara drains

Through your esteemed daily, the residents of Barsapara, RGB Sarani Bye Lane 6, and adjoining areas like Kali Mandir Lane and Sundar Path wish to highlight the severe waterlogging crisis caused by blocked drainage outlets.

The effluents from our drains once flowed into a low-lying vacant plot near Barsapara Cricket Stadium. Recently, individual plot owners and the Assam Cricket Association filled this area, choking the natural outflow. Though the Hon'ble Mayor arranged a temporary kutcha drain, it only partially relieved the issue, leaving Sundar Path under water even during light showers. With continuous rain, the situation has worsened. Drainwater now floods the houses and threatens us as the monsoon intensifies. We urge the authorities to urgently link the existing drains to the main RGB Sarani drainage system.

Pritam Paul,

Gauhati University

Khalid Jamil’s task as football coach

Indian football direly requires a fresh impetus and new direction. Therefore, whether or not newly appointed head coach Khalid Jamil will meet the expectations of lakhs of fans is a matter of speculation. Jamil has a very good track record as a coach, but he will soon learn that coaching Indian football is altogether a different ball game than managing Aizawl FC or Jamshedpur FC.

India has performed poorly in the Asia Cup qualifiers till now, and the only consoling factor is that under Jamil the fortune of the country's football can only look up. The Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Nations Cup in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will be the first step for Jamil, where defending champions Iran and Tajikistan will pose a tough challenge for India before the big double-header Asia Cup qualifiers against Singapore in October.

Having represented India in 40 matches as a midfielder, the new coach should know well that football is all about tactics and team effort. The first Indian to coach India after Savio Medeira in 2011–12, Jamil's grassroots connection will be a big boost when he takes control of the "blue tigers": the Indian national football team. Besides gelling with the skipper, the legendary Sunil Chhetri, Jamil needs to connect with every player in the team to bring out the best in them; in "two to three years," he is expected to be at the helm.

Dr Ganapathi Bhat

(gbhat13@gmail.com)

Online food safety

Today, the rapid digitalisation has changed the consumer habits and made them so busy that they have no time to go to market and buy day-to-day needs. So, there are a number of e-commerce platforms for e-consumers in every nook and corner of the country. Today, the list of the food products ordered from e-commerce platforms starts from packaged items and fresh produce from farms to cloud-kitchen-cooked food. But, unfortunately, what we often find is that sometimes the consumers do not feel it necessary to check whether the e-commerce platforms maintain strict adherence to hygiene and food safety protocols, as cautioned by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). In the state capital, Guwahati, we see e-commerce platforms such as Zomato, Big Basket, Blinkit, Flipkart, etc., that depend on gig workers for food delivery from morning till late at night.

But their uniform compliance with hygiene standards has raised serious health concerns for consumers. For instance, while delivering food items like chutney and sauce, they use single-use banned plastics, and most consumers are okay with it, which speaks volumes about the poor consumer awareness about health risks. In the August 1 editorial, 'Consumer awareness key to online food safety,' it has been rightly said that FSSAI needs to adopt a holistic approach, such as building a robust oversight mechanism, to prevent self-regulatory measures from reducing to a mere paper-based exercise without strict adherence on the ground. It also needs to provide consumers access to storage data to ensure digital traceability of online food products and food safety. Unless and until the consumer plays a crucial role in reporting the violation of food safety norms with the consumer grievance redressal, the food safety gap will remain unaddressed. Can we disagree with the fact that public health is of paramount importance while leveraging digital technology for online growth of food businesses? So, consumer awareness is always the key to making the entire e-commerce ecosystem more sustainable and transparent.

Iqbal Saikia,

Guwahati.