Rooftop relaxation

Sir — Anything that the president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, does seems to strike fear in the hearts of people. The latest ripple of anxiety was caused by Trump taking a sudden walk on the terrace of the White House. Speculation is rife about whether the president wants to build a roof-top pool or maybe a mini golf course there. While such concerns are not misplaced given his penchant for construction — Trump is building a multi-million-dollar ballroom in the White House — it could also be that he was just doing something that most people no longer have the luxury of doing: taking a stroll on an open, private terrace. With apartment complexes replacing single-owner homes, a walk on the terrace has become an increasingly rare joy.

Mitali Dey Chaudhuri,
Calcutta

Shameful mistake

Sir — Terming the Bengali language “Bangladeshi” is ignominious (“Language of bigotry on Bangla”, Aug 4). The Trinamool Congress has highlighted such a ridiculous mix-up in a letter written by the Delhi Police to Banga Bhavan. Senior police officers deny having any knowledge of this letter. Coming amidst the uproar over the targeting of Bengali migrants in states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, this has given a fillip to the TMC’s language stir.

The persistent denigration of the Bengali language, one of the 22 official languages of India, is appalling. It is ironic that the prime minister, Narendra Modi, pays homage to the likes of Khudiram Bose and Swami Vivekananda to further his political agenda but does not speak up when the mother tongue of these luminaries is being maligned.

Aayman Anwar Ali,
Calcutta

Sir — Several eminent personalities — Srijit Mukherjee, Rupam Islam and Surojit Chatterjee, among others — have spoken up against the Delhi Police calling Bengali a “Bangladeshi language”. But there is no point blaming the Delhi Police; it only works under the instruction of the Union home ministry. Bengali people will not forgive the BJP for this defamation of the Bengali language. This episode will put the BJP on the back foot in Bengal and work to the benefit of the TMC, which always capitalises on the issue of the BJP being ‘bahiragata’.

Jang Bahadur Singh,
Jamshedpur

Sir — The TMC is spreading unnecessary panic about the persecution of Bengalis. Ironically, when the Left Front was in power in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee — then in the Opposition — had been equally vocal about Bangladeshi infiltrators in the state. What the Delhi Police are doing is correct.

Haran Chandra Mandal,
North 24 Parganas

Sir — It is sad to note that Bengali-speaking migrant workers are being harassed. The lack of employment opportunities in Bengal pushed them to seek work outside the state. The state should try and generate employment opportunities in Bengal and work with the Centre to identify and deport Bangladeshi citizens living illegally in India.

R. Sambamurthy,
Calcutta

Inconvenient truths

Sir — Satya Pal Malik, the former governor of Jammu and Kashmir, has passed away. In the recent past, Malik had been turned into a hero by the Opposition for revealing hard truths about the revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and for taking on the prime minister, Narendra Modi (“Biting irony in ex-J&K governor’s death”, Aug 6). But it must be remembered that he acted conscientiously only after he was divested of his post. It must be asked why his conscience did not bother him while he was the governor. He could have quit in protest.

Kajal Chatterjee,
Calcutta

Sir — The demise of Satya Pal Malik is a loss for the nation. He had the guts to call out the unlawful revocation of Article 370 by the Narendra Modi government. He also revealed that the Pulwama attack on a Central Reserve Police Force convoy could have been averted if the need for a helicopter for its transportation was not denied by the Union home ministry.

T. Ramadas,
Visakhapatnam

Human folly

Sir — A sudden cloudburst and torrential rains in Uttarkashi have left a trail of destruction in their wake (“Uttarakhand flash flood kills and traps many”,
Aug 6). Nearly half of Dharali village has been swept away and the ancient Kalp Kedar Shiva temple, built in the traditional Kature style, has been buried by the debris brought over by the flash flood in the Kheer Ganga river. At least five people were confirmed dead by Wednesday afternoon and over 60 people remained missing. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for Uttarakhand, warning of continued heavy rainfall. This is worrying.

Bhagwan Thadani,
Mumbai

Sir — The flash flood in Uttarkashi brought back horrific memories of the 2013 Kedarnath disaster. While the immediate cause of the flood was a cloudburst and torrential rainfall, the underlying reason for the scale of the damage is unchecked and ill-planned development in the fragile and ecologically-sensitive Himalayan belt. Environmentalists have long warned that this region is not suitable for large-scale development. Despite this, both the Central and the state governments continue to push projects in the name of promoting tourism and generating employment. This disaster should serve as yet another wake-up call. If we continue to ignore the ecological balance in the name of progress, we will have to bear devastating consequences. It is time to rethink the existing development model and prioritise sustainability over profit in the sensitive Himalayan region.

Sandeep Rawat,
Chandigarh