Letters to the Editor — May 27, 2021

Palestine and peace

There is no doubt that everyone yearns for durable peace in West Asia. The fact is that wherever colonial powers set foot, they have almost always left the place behind in doldrums. History is standing proof of this. Peace has to be given its due chance and Palestinians deserve this. World leaders need to play a catalytic role in enabling Israel and Palestine in reaching an accord that should be formidable and promotes harmony.

R. Ramanathan,

Coimbatore

Biomedical waste

The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is posing numerous challenges before India on multiple fronts — health care, the economy and the environment. In the last category, the main issue is the exponentially increasing volume of biomedical waste. Data suggest that the average generation of COVID-19 related biomedical waste during May has been 203 tonnes per day. While there are guidelines to handle medical waste with utmost care, the addition of biomedical waste due to the pandemic and the lack of general awareness on safe disposal has made the task difficult. COVID waste is not only being generated in hospitals but also at home. Essentially, biomedical waste is being dumped with normal municipal waste.

One only hopes that the ‘Biomedical Waste Management Rules’ are being followed. One also wonders whether new disposal technologies such as plasma torch technology in handling waste are being introduced. Contamination of water bodies is a concern. District administrations across India need to raise awareness. The ultimate goal should be to reduce environmental damage.

Siddharth Desai,

Mumbai

Virus origins

Reports about and the growing chorus from across the world to investigate the origins of the novel coronavirus outbreak cannot be ignored. Long characterised by sceptics as a conspiracy theory, the postulation that the pandemic could have begun as a ‘laboratory accident’ in China adds a new dimension to the whole episode. The world deserves a transparent and fair investigation (‘World’ page, “U.S. calls for ‘transparent; new probe into COVID-19 origins”, May 26).

R. Sivakumar,

Chennai