MyVoice: Views of our readers - 19 Dec

It's high time world nations addressed climate change

It is very disappointing and unfortunate that the two-week-long COP 25 climate talks in Madrid ended without reaching an agreement on global carbon markets.

Countries failed to agree on many of the expected outcomes, including rules to set up a carbon trading system besides a system to channel new finance to countries facing the impacts of climate change.

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed disappointment with the results of COP 25. It is rightly said that the international community has lost an important opportunity to show increased ambition on migration, adaptation and finance to tackle the climate crisis.

It should be remembered that the countries agreed in Paris to revisit their climate pledges by 2020. Simply postponing key decisions shows that the world leaders are still in a 'talks only mode' forgetting that the time for talks is over and it is only time for urgent actions at a global level.

The recent warning of more than 11,000 scientists from all over the world declaring climate emergency fell on deaf ears putting the entire humanity at risk. The adverse effects of the warming trend and the change of climate are being observed globally in many ways.

Of particular concern is the harmful impact on human health and the emergence of new diseases. Humid and warm atmosphere favours the growth of vectors such as mosquitoes, flies, and ticks which in turn spread diseases such as malaria, dengue, chikungunya, filaria, cholera, yellow fever, etc.

If we do not meet the climate challenge, if we do not bring down GHG emissions, then we are undermining the environmental determinants on which we all depend.

Since climate change and consequent harmful impacts concern the entire world, a global response by way of intergovernmental collaboration is urgently required in the spirit of the Paris Agreement.

Future generations would not forgive us if we deliberately ignore the alarming bells already ringing. Let us hope that all countries will soon commit to doing what is necessary to reach carbon neutrality in 2050 and a no more than 1.5 degrees temperature rise.

Dr E R Subrahmanyam, Amalapuram, E G dist, A P

Judiciary should act fast in Nirbhaya case

Nirbhaya case has been dragged on for too long, and the judiciary needs to be faster. Now, the apex court has rejected the review petition of one of the death raw convicts, Akshay Kumar Singh, in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case.

Singh had filed the petition earlier this month to review the apex court's own 2017 verdict, which had upheld the death penalty handed down to him and three other convicts in the case. The latter's review pleas were dismissed by the top court last year.

If such a high profile case can't reach finality even after seven long years, then the law can hardly hold much deterrence value.

The Nirbhaya gang rape and murder fell in the rarest of rare category. I think this issue is disconcerting and grievous. And, judgement should be given at the earliest. Pranjal Shrivastava, Hyderabad II The Supreme Court is to be commended for rejecting the death row convict's review plea in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape case. This will be a huge lesson for those who violate women. There should be absolutely zero tolerance for the miscreants behind such horrendous crimes. Timely justice is what our nation currently needs.

Adrian David, Chennai

3 capitals for AP, a welcome move

Proposal for decentralisation of capital of AP is very good and a welcome thought. Establishing the capital at three places - legislature in Amaravati, executive in Visakhapatnam (Secretariat) and High Court in Kurnool - will help AP to have all round development of all the regions.

Total activities of the capital in Hyderabad for combined Andhra Pradesh had brought the idea of bifurcation of State, because of the imbalance in the development of other areas. Such problems can be prevented by decentralisation of capital activities.

The Opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh and farmers provoked by the Opposition parties are needlessly protesting the capital at three locations.

All the protesters must think wisely and understand balanced development of all the areas, withdraw protest and participate in the all-round development of Andhra Pradesh.

Protest by former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is only to help his benamis not for the development of Andhra Pradesh. People must understand this and accordingly support the government and help build golden Andhra Pradesh.

Sambasiva Rao Choda, Hyderabad

Anti-CAA agitators belittle secular credentials of India

This is with reference to the report 'Spell out reason for opposing Citizenship Act: BJP to KCR' (Dec 19). Telangana BJP State president Dr K Laxman, throwing down the gauntlet to ruling TRS, and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, on latter's fighting shy, and even stonewalling on Citizenship Amendment Act-2019 (CAA-2019), will be only to the advantage of pseudo seculars, and anti-nationals.

The mindless opposition to the Act, despite enough clarification by the Centre that the Muslim community in the country is in no way affected by this, as it is intended for the minorities migrated from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, settled in India, due to religious persecution, forceful conversion to Islam and genocide.

Radical Islamic groups like the majlis are trying to berate and belittle the secular credentials of the country. The tolerance of the majority community cannot be taken for granted, perennially.

K V Raghuram, Wayanad, Kerala