MyVoice: Views of our readers 10th December 2020

Indian Army's compassionate act

It was heartening to read about the Indian Army's gesture in repatriating two girls from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir who had inadvertently crossed the Line of Control in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Given that armed forces are generally associated with notions of aggression, the army's actions in this case were truly exemplary.

The young girls are sisters and were identified as Laiba Zabair and Sana Zabair. Before returning home, Laiba is reported to have said that they were treated very well by the Indian troops, who provided them with food and shelter and made efforts to ensure their speedy return to their own home.

We must doff our hats to our jawans and their admirable actions for keeping the girls safe. This is why our soldiers are the pride of the country.

Noor Ahmad, Hyderabad

Stop misleading farmers

This refers to the news item 'Bharat bandh peaceful' (Dec 9). In most States, Tuesday's Bharat Bandh did not manifest memorably, suggesting that the Punjab protesters' demand for rolling back the agricultural reforms is not as widespread as it looks. States which have either not seen MSP munificence in the first place or where crop patterns have tended towards greater diversification and market linkages, are simply not in the same boat.

As for the State that once boasted the highest per capita income, Punjab's overdependence on public procurement of wheat and paddy has gradually made it uncompetitive and this is reflected in its decline in prosperity rankings. Fearful of further decline, the protesters want to stop change. They are suspicious of the agribusinesses which the new farm laws envisage will begin sourcing directly from farmers.

The irony is that if their demands are met, it will only diminish their future further, as also of the entire country. Despite repeated assurance that the rumours of the imminent demise of minimum support price and mandis are false, the government has not done a sound job of convincing the agitating farmers.

However, it is reflective of a political culture that cannot embrace freedom, markets and reforms without hypocrisies, ambiguity and doublespeak. All parties are much more comfortable accusing opponents of threatening farmers' livelihoods, than collaborating to actually uplift farm incomes. If the government compromises on MSP or the farm laws under pressure from the protests mainly from the farmers of Punjab which constitutes about 1.09 million out of 146.5 million farming families in India, it would signal any reform effort in India can be sabotaged by some group's opposition and laying siege to the national capital.

We should not forget the lesson from 1991 major economic reforms delivering trajectory of growth and opportunities but were termed as inimical to the nation. Closed systems do not mitigate risk, that's a dangerous deception. The private commerce that has opened up new vistas from telecom to education must no longer be harshly restricted in agriculture. Big ticket dreams of becoming a $ 5 trillion economy and doubling the farmers' income hinge on reforms.

N Sadhasiva Reddy, Bengaluru

Fuel price hike unwarranted

Auto fuel prices are skyrocketing across the country with the petrol and diesel prices hitting an all-time high. The hike in fuel prices have increased substantially, making it one of the biggest hikes in the recent past. While the petrol price zoomed to Rs 90.34 a litre and diesel Rs 80.51 on Tuesday in Mumbai making one of the highest fuel prices in the country.

In other metro cities and elsewhere, the retail price of petrol and diesel is very close to all-time high this week. High fuel prices are pinching the pockets of vehicle owners and this abrupt hike is economically affecting the people already reeling under the onslaught of Covid-19 pandemic. This, in turn, will lead to transportation costs and the burden of price rise of essential commodities will be on the consumers.

Everyone is reeling under financial strain due to prevailing pandemic and this fuel price hike will lead to inflation. With the crude prices in the upswing again on the news of successful corona vaccine launch soon, the oil marketing companies finally resorted to price hike to cover their losses on the sale of petrol and diesel.

As the impact of the fuel adversely affecting the consumers, high fuel taxes amplified the effect. These hikes are unwarranted and arbitrary. The Centre should look into the matter and provide relief on taxes, Vat, excise duty/cess to bring down the fuel price.

Kodihalli S Rao, Shreenagar, Thane