Urgent need

Sir - The editorial, "Death by air" (Oct 6), rightly pointed out the need for "radical corrective action" so far as air pollution is concerned. A recent study by the World Health Organization has shown that 92 per cent of the world's population lives in places where air pollution levels exceed the organization's recommended guidelines.

Pollution has increased hand in hand with modernization.The conventions and summits that have been held so far to address this issue have failed to produce the desired results. The main reason for this failure is that countries always put individual interests before global problems. Governments across the world should make a concerted effort to minimize their contribution to air and water pollution.

Yours faithfully,
Asit Kumar Mitra,
Calcutta

Make sure

Sir - The Central Board of Secondary Education was right in doing away with the system of re-evaluating answer scripts ("CBSE to scrap fresh valuation", Oct 5). More often than not, students who are even slightly dissatisfied with their marks apply for a re-evaluation. On many occasions, they themselves are not sure whether there has been an error in the marking. The volume of papers sent back for re-evaluation not only makes it difficult for the board to bring out the revised results on time but also increases the workload of teachers.

However, there are certain problems with the decision of the CBSE. What if there is an error in the printed marks? I remember having read about an instance when a candidate had received 96, which was misprinted as 69 on the marksheet. Should such students go through the laborious process of approaching the regional office and then getting their results after considerable delays? This might hamper their chances of getting into a good college. The board should devise different procedures for those who want their papers re-evaluated and those who just want to check for calculation errors or printing mistakes.

Yours faithfully,
Ankita Bachhawat,
Howrah

Choose wisely

Sir - It is shocking to see Pierce Brosnan, an actor who gained popularity for playing James Bond on screen, featured in an advertisement for Pan Bahar . The actor should be ashamed of endorsing an allegedly harmful product. In the interest of public health, the government should take steps to ensure that tobacco products like guthka and paan masala are not promoted. Celebrities should wisely choose the products they endorse. They should remember that their admirers might buy a product simply because they are endorsing it. Given their influence, celebrities like Brosnan should promote a healthy lifestyle instead.

Yours faithfully,
Saptarshi Mandal,
Howrah

Sir - The owners of Pan Bahar pulled off quite a coup by roping in Pierce Brosnan as their brand ambassador. The actor was ridiculed in the media and on social networking sites. Some of the actor's admirers were upset by his decision to endorse a product that is widely believed to contain tobacco. It is hazardous for health and is linked to cancer. The company, however, has issued a clarification saying that the product does not contain any tobacco and is just a mouth freshener.

Pan Bahar had, in recent times, lost its popularity. Thanks to the controversy stirred up by Brosnan's appearance in the advertisement, it has come back to the public eye. The same can be said about the actor whose films have not been doing too well lately. All press indeed seems to be good press in this case.

Yours faithfully,
Kasturi Roy,
Calcutta

Parting shot

Sir - The Reserve Bank of India recently cut the repo rate by 25 basis points ("Goodbye Rajan, hello Cut-it Urjit", Oct 5). This is supposed to come as a relief for takers of loans. However, banks do not pass on this benefit to existing loan-takers. The RBI should ensure that those who have already taken loans get the advantage of the rate cut. The Central bank should also ensure that multinational investment firms do not take their customers for a ride. The public sector banks should standardize interest rates for deposits and loans.

Yours faithfully,
Subhash Chandra Agrawal,
Dariba, New Delhi