Delicious past

Sir — As someone who grew up on Enid Blyton, I often rued the fact that the picnics of my childhood in Calcutta were nothing like the ones in my favourite books. There were no drop scones and homemade ham, no jam tarts and anchovy sandwiches, and definitely no cool ginger beer. Instead, picnic baskets here, often carried to the zoo in winters, contained wintry treats like shukno aloor dum, koraishutir kochuri, vegetable chops, tea and Frooti. While I spent my childhood sneering at these desi delicacies, as an adult, I dearly miss the time spent polishing off these goodies under the winter sun.

Shreya Basu,Dehradun

Murky result

Sir — A panel of experts appointed by the Supreme Court to probe allegations of unauthorised surveillance on citizens using the Pegasus spyware has been unable to establish any links with the Israeli spyware in the devices submitted to it (“Pega-shush”, Aug 26). This indicates that the Opposition wasted the nation’s time. Political rivals of the Bharatiya Janata Party stalled parliamentary proceedings over an issue that has now been debunked.

Divyansha Sharma,Ujjain

Sir — The Supreme Court-appointed panel looking into the Pegasus spyware case has said that the Union government has not “cooperated fully” with its investigation. Had the Centre been transparent, the result of the probe would have been different. Moreover, the government’s reluctance to cooperate indicates that it is hiding something.

Arun Gupta,Calcutta

Divert attention

Sir — The carefully-crafted image of the chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, has taken a serious beating in recent times with arrests of several leaders of the ruling party on charges of corruption. Banerjee has thus fallen back on her strategy of using the Durga Puja as a diversion (“All play”, Aug 25). The largesse shown to about 40,000 government-recognised Puja committees by granting them subsidies from an already beleaguered public exchequer will help the Trinamul Congress mobilise support. But people must not be swayed by such populism. Public festivals have no place for State intervention.

Jahar Saha,Calcutta

Too powerful

Sir — The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act recently replaced the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920. The 2022 Act grants immense powers and legal sanction to authorities to collect, analyse and store biometric and personal data of any person, including persons arrested by executive authorities and convicts. These powers are much wider than those granted by the 1920 Act. It is well-settled that the right to life includes the right to privacy, the right to live with dignity and the right to remain silent. While no person can be compelled to adduce self-incriminating evidence, the right to privacy also recognises the power of an individual to control the dissemination of personal information. The 2022 Act does not seem to be synchronised with these aspects of the law.

Kanupriya Goswami,CalcuttaBumpy road

Sir — The speed breakers that have been constructed on the main road between Jaugram and Memari in East Burdwan have become a nightmare for motorcyclists as well as passengers of public vehicles. In fact, they can do more harm than good by causing accidents from sudden braking. Excessive speed breakers also pose health hazards, especially orthopaedic diseases to do with the cervical and lumbar areas. Vehicles, too, suffer damages owing to the frequent jerks. The civic authorities must find other ways to ensure that drivers stick to the required speed limits.

Sibsankar Dey,East Burdwan