Under watch
Sir — An office notice recently sparked controversy for warning its employees that they have to compensate if they spend beyond the 30 minutes allotted for the lunch break. Advising employees to “eat faster”, the memo iterated that if employees extend their lunchtime even by a minute, that would result in an hour of additional work beyond the stipulated time. This is bizarre logic. If a 31-minute meal break costs an employee 60 more minutes of work, then, by the same logic, the employee is entitled to overtime pay for working even a minute longer than the log-off time. Corporate offices should refrain from infantilising workers. Patronising workers by making them gobble up their tiffin under a stopwatch is hardly a way to retain them on a long-term basis.
Kalpana Singh,
Noida
Unsafe cities
Sir — At least 17 people died and many others were injured in an inferno in a three-storeyed building in Lucknow on Monday (“Save me! Last call from the blaze-hit”, Jun 24). The building was a residential space but was turned into a commercial establishment with a coaching centre. Most of the victims were students.
Bhagwan Thadani,
Mumbai
Sir — Frequent fire incidents are a growing concern in India The parents who lost their children in the inferno in Aliganj in Lucknow have suffered an irreparable loss. One shudders to think which direction India is heading if the country’s youth are not safe. At least 12 aspirants committed suicide after the leakage of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate question paper recently. Instead of focusing on electoral achievements, our leaders should take up the issues plaguing the youth on an urgent
basis.
Sunil Chopra,
Ludhiana
Sir — India has witnessed some deadly fire tragedies in recent decades. The devastating fire at Uphaar Cinema in 1997 was a prime example. Most of these incidents resulted from the callous attitude of officials. Buildings are often poorly constructed and under-maintained. While the government always promises strict action in the aftermath of such tragedies, we seldom see any real action. The officials who issue fitness certificates to buildings without proper inspection must be held accountable.
N. Mahadevan,
Chennai
Sir — The devastating fire in Lucknow indicates our poor fire safety standards. An alleged AC short circuit led to the blaze. The incident exposed serious security lapses, including locked exits, absence of sprinklers, inadequate emergency exits, and delayed rescue efforts. Many commercial establishments continue to ignore fire safety norms as a result of which firefighters are often forced to break through walls during such emergencies. There is an urgent need to strengthen fire-safety compliance and ensure advanced training for the fire services.
Kiran Agarwal,
Calcutta
Sir — The blaze in Lucknow highlights chronic underpreparedness. Most buildings are overcrowded, lack working firefighting equipment, store flammable materials with impunity, and have no escape routes. The response time of fire departments often exceeds the critical window during emergencies. Fire safety relies on constant vigilance. Complacency leads to devastating loss of life and infrastructure.
Anwar Saeed,
Calcutta
Sir — Most of the structures built in crowded urban areas violate construction and fire-safety norms. The building in Lucknow which was gutted in a blaze lacked dedicated emergency exits. The building had received a demolition order in 2016 for unauthorised construction but the order was revoked shortly after.
This is the case with most buildings across Indian cities. Coaching centres have mushroomed across cities. These centres subject students to cramped and unsafe conditions. Such wilful disregard of public safety must not go unpunished.
Kamal Laddha,
Bengaluru
Wrong name
Sir — In renaming Suhrawardy Avenue in Park Circus as Gopal Mukherjee Road, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has targeted the wrong Suhrawardy (“Axe on Suhrawardy, but the wrong one”, Jun 22). The street was named after Hassan Suhrawardy, a distinguished surgeon and the first Muslim vice-chancellor of Calcutta University. The state government seems to have confused him with his nephew, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, the Muslim League leader who is accused of facilitating the Great Calcutta Killings. The government would do well to roll back this decision and find a new road that can be named after Mukherjee.
Jahar Saha,
Calcutta
Sir — Hassan Suhrawardy was a renowned educationist, doctor, and politician. Although he was the uncle of H.S. Suhrawardy, the premier of undivided Bengal who was linked to the 1946 Direct Action Day riots, Hassan Suhrawardy was a very different personality. Gopal Mukherjee should be remembered for his key role in containing pre-Partition riots. A different road in Calcutta should be chosen to honour him.
Hemanta Sasmal,
Howrah
Sir — A quote from Veronica Roth’s novel, Allegiant, “Desperation can make a person do surprising things”, can be applied to the recent renaming of Suhrawardy Avenue to Gopal Mukherjee Road. Such selective denigration of Muslim personalities and their contributions exposes a concerning desperation to rewrite history. This renaming spree will eventually wipe out the cultural markers and replace them with partisan slogans.
Aayman Anwar Ali,
Calcutta