Following guidelines
Despite the worrying rise in COVID-19 cases across the country, especially in the metros including Delhi, the general public doesn’t seem to care much (“COVID-19 turns India’s urban blight”, June 11). We don’t seem to realise the gravity of the situation despite being given daily updates on the number of cases and deaths. Many people don’t wear face masks or even wash their hands frequently, and physical distancing is a dream in public places. It’s not enough for the public to only follow government instructions under a lockdown. Now is the time we need to be more vigilant than ever. It is incumbent on us to follow guidelines even under ‘unlock’ because this is a matter of life and death.
S.K. Gupta,
New Delhi
Resolving differences
It’s a good sign that India and China have reached an agreement on the tensions along the LAC (“China reaches accord with India on LAC spat”, June 11). At a time when the world is grappling with a pandemic and a global economic crisis, it is unfortunate that India and China are engaged in a border dispute. It is crucial that they solve it as quickly as possible and get back to the business of fighting COVID-19. The hope is that the stand-off will also end in Pangong Lake. It is appropriate that India has made it clear that the ongoing infrastructure development on the Indian side of the LAC will not stop.
Kosaraju Chandramouli,
Hyderabad
Running risks
Performance-enhancing drugs have no place in any sport at any level. If an athlete is detected using a banned substance in an international sports meet, it not only tarnishes the image of the country but also casts a cloud of suspicion on fellow athletes who trained and won fairly (“Ugly run”, June 11). At the same time, the possibility of coaches and trainers getting players to take performance-enhancing drugs cannot be ruled out. It is prudent to catch substance-abusing athletes at an early stage of their career by testing at the district and State levels, much before they enter the international stage.
A. Venkatasubramanian
Tiruchi
Systemic change
George Floyd’s killing at the hands of police officer Derek Chauvin was just the latest in a series of attacks against African-Americans in the U.S. (“Policing the police is not enough,” June 11). Years of misconduct and brutality by the local police led to many protests in the past, too, and there was much talk of police reform. But Floyd’s death only reaffirms the fact that police reform has completely failed there. And it has failed because this is systemic violence which cannot be tackled with mere cosmetic changes. Clearly reformation is not the answer. What the U.S. needs now is to re-imagine the paradigm of policing.
R. Sivakumar,
Chennai
