looming war
The Kakhovka Dam burst has raised concerns about the functioning of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and drinking water supplies, indicating that the war between Russia and Ukraine has entered a new and dangerous phase (‘The World’ p. 7 june) . The interesting thing here is that like the earlier drone attack in Petersburg, both Russia and Ukraine are blaming each other for this catastrophe. As part of war strategy, counter-attacks are to be expected in greater or equal measure.
J Radhakrishna Kurup,
Ettumanoor, Kottayam, Kerala
We wonder when the two nations will have wise counsel for the much needed reconciliation. It is the primary duty of world leaders to ensure this. Why is there no action?
N. Balachander,
Chennai
need mango board
The recent rains and hailstorm in several parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have ravaged mango orchards, as the crucial flowering stage has been ruined. Last year too, the crop yield was very low, but for a different reason – lack of sufficient rains.
In Rayalaseema, mango is the only crop that sustains the farmers; Every inch of farmland is under mango trees in almost all northern Andhra districts, along with a few districts like Chittoor, Annamayya, Cuddapah and Tirupati. A separate mango board on the lines of coffee, tea or rubber board would cater to the needs of mango farmers in terms of minimum support price for the crop and procurement of manures and fertilizers and to address the problems associated with pest control. When it comes to marketing the crop, growers are at the mercy of the management of private pulp factories, who form cartels and adopt questionable methods to try to buy mangoes at throwaway prices during the season.
KSS Seshan,
Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh