Clever species
Sir — Having an emotional support animal is not a new concept. Dogs and cats are popularly adopted as emotional support animals. But in Kyiv, amidst the conflict with Russia, a cafe called the Piglet Cafe is allowing its customers to interact with piglets to soothe their emotional distress caused by the ongoing war. Pigs are usually shunned as they are considered dirty but they are actually an extremely intelligent species. This thoughtful initiative by Piglet Cafe has shown that these animals can offer empathy and warmth just like cats and dogs. Pigs deserve to be cherished as valued companions.
Hemanti Choudhury,
Patna
Tragic end
Sir — The recent tragedy near the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, where at least 11 lives were lost and over 30 people were injured in a stampede outside its entry gate, underscores the grave consequences of poor crowd management (“Stampede at RCB carnival”, June 5). It has been reported that the chaos was triggered by the collapse of a slab from excessive weight when fans gathered to catch a glimpse of the players. In a country where cricket, religion and cinema evoke massive emotions, events around them must take extra precautions.
R.S. Narula,
Patiala
Sir — The tragic death of cricket fans in Bengaluru during the felicitation ceremony for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru winning the Indian Premier League has, once again, exposed the poor crowd management by the police and civic authorities. The massive turnout to celebrate the triumph should have been expected. Yet, the authorities failed to prepare adequately for an event of this scale.
S.S. Paul,
Nadia
Sir — What should have been a jubilant celebration at the Chinnaswamy Stadium became a fatal miscalculation: three lakh ecstatic fans crammed into a space built for 35,000 with no escape route in sight. The incident has shown that joy, when unchecked by safety measures, can turn into a catastrophe.
Dhananjay Sinha,
Calcutta
Sir — The recent stampede in Bengaluru was preventable. If the Bengaluru police had made adequate preparations, the stadium would not have been packed beyond capacity. Just over the past year, we have seen stampedes take numerous lives and yet no one learns a lesson.
Khokan Das,
Calcutta
Sir — Overcrowding due to overenthusiasm and poor crowd management caused the stampede in Bengaluru. Around three lakh people tried to fit in astadium with a capacity of 35,000. It is incomprehensible that people should risk their lives to see their favourite cricketers. This is not to blame the victims but to caution people against endangering their lives.
G. David Milton,
Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
Sir — The deputy chief minister of Karnataka,
D.K. Shivakumar, has said that his government takes full responsibility for the stampede. It has been revealed that there were not enough police personnel
to man the thousands of cricket fans. If the state
government was keen
on celebrating and honouring the players, it should have taken precautionary measures and, yet, not even an ambulance was allegedly available at the venue.
N. Mahadevan,
Chennai
Sir — It is sad to see celebrity worship claim innocent lives. Cricket is a beautiful sport, but has now become overhyped and over-commercialised. Corporate houses, gambling platforms, and media giants are milking the emotions of millions for profit. Our emotions are being exploited for business. While the love for sport should be celebrated, blind fanaticism is a threat to reason, safety, and human life.
Md. Sabir Hussain,
Arrah, Bihar