Hills calling
Sir — Darjeeling’s tourist season seemed doomed after the recent landslides. But with the air turning crisp in the city, Bengali travellers are itching to return to the Queen of the Hills. Reports show that train tickets are selling out, hotels are filling up, and social media has already seen an uptick in photos of Bengalis in woollen caps cradling tea cups in their hands. Local businesses are relieved. Although the roads are still being repaired, it seems the promise of cool weather and a quick escape from Calcutta’s dust is stronger than any worry about loose soil. Darjeeling may not be fully ready to bear the onslaught of Bengali travellers but the tourists certainly are.
Sourav Ash,
Calcutta
Cause for concern
Sir — The Synchronous All India Elephant Estimation 2021-25 reports that India’s Asian elephant population is at 22,446, a figure positioned as a “new baseline”. This figure has been arrived at after a change in the methodology of calculation. This is cause for concern. The change in methodology means that the older 2017 figure of 27,312 elephants is not directly comparable under a different approach. Thus it becomes impossible to tell whether elephant numbers have fallen. While it is true that the genetic mark-recapture model may yield more precise estimates, it might also undercount individuals in less accessible regions. The decline might reflect real losses from habitat fragmentation and conflict or simply methodological refinement.
Koustabh Sengupta,
Calcutta
Sir — The new elephant census method adopted DNA analysis of dung samples across forest blocks. That is a much more rigorous technique and reduces reliance on eyeball counts. Critics argue that poor sampling in certain regions, especially in the Northeast, may still revise results downward. The 2023 sampling in forest blocks was very limited, restricting density modelling there. If the estimate undercounts elephants in remote or fragmented terrain, then conservation priorities may be misallocated. The government must balance trust in new science with awareness of sampling gaps. Policymakers must avoid complacency but also resist panic.
Zakir Hussain,
Kazipet, Telangana
Sir — The reported drop of 17.8% in the elephant population raises alarm. Elephant numbers are the highest in the Western Ghats. Yet that region now suffers severe fragmentation from plantations, fences and infrastructure. In those areas, the decline may be real. But in the Shivalik and Gangetic plains, the new count aligns with past estimates, hinting that not all landscapes show dramatic changes. Conservation efforts must focus where drops are robust and also refine surveys where uncertainty remains.
Ratna Datta,
Calcutta
Sir — The new elephant baseline offers a chance to reset India’s conservation goals. But the risk lies in misinterpretation. If the government treats the figure as final truth and ignores margins of error, flawed policies may follow. Yet ignoring it also wastes an opportunity to re-evaluate threats to pachyderms with fresh data. A transparent adoption of uncertainty, periodic follow-ups, peer reviews of methods and open data sharing will boost both legitimacy and action. Elephants’ future demands neither blind faith nor paralysing scepticism but calibrated determination.
Arun Gupta,
Calcutta
Reckless plan
Sir — The Great Nicobar Island is facing a mega-infrastructure plan that threatens 13,000 hectares of pristine forest. Proponents of the project argue that strategic development will boost regional growth, strengthen logistics and generate jobs. Some mitigation has also been promised through compensatory afforestation and relocation of species. But such promises seldom match ecological reality. Forest ecosystems cannot be recreated elsewhere. The Shompen and Nicobarese tribes depend on the island’s natural webs. Judicial precedent like the Niyamgiri case demands that tribal consent and rights under the Forest Rights
Act, 2006 must guide any diversion of land. Without genuinely settled forest rights and ecological safeguards, the project is reckless.
Jayanta Datta,
Hooghly
Risky move
Sir — Zoho’s success as a profitable, bootstrapped company is remarkable. But the government’s decision to standardise its use across government departments raises procedural concerns. No public record exists of a competitive tendering process or cost-benefit comparison with alternatives. Government software adoption must remain vendor-neutral and transparent to prevent de facto monopolies. A single private firm, however trustworthy, should not become the default infrastructure of official communication without open evaluation and contractual safeguards for data and exit options.
Anil Bagarka,
Mumbai
Sir — Cybersecurity, not nationalism, should determine software choices. Zoho’s track record includes serious vulnerabilities in its ManageEngine line, some exploited by international threat actors. The company responded quickly with patches which shows responsibility. Yet the pattern underscores the risk of large-scale dependence.
Raktim Das,
Calcutta
Out of focus
Sir — Donald Trump’s irritation over Time magazine’s cover reveals his continuing preoccupation with image management. The complaint about hair and camera angles trivialises what could have been a substantive moment in diplomacy. Time’s article credited his administration with helping broker a Gaza ceasefire, yet attention has shifted to vanity rather than achievement.
Shatadru Ghosh,
Calcutta