Letters: Readers writes in about the TRP fixing in Indian television channels, global hunger and coronavirus
A reader expressed his thoughts about the need for global food security during COVID-19
TRP fixing by Indian televisions
This letter refers to your report that Mumbai Police has busted a racket where some television news channels manipulate Television Rating Points(TRP) to enable them to boost their viewership numbers and attract more advertisements (“Time to clean up India’s dirty TRP business as Mumbai Police investigate Republic TV”, Gulf News, October 11). Till now, we have come across only match-fixing charges in sports, especially in cricket and also in politics. I feel this revelation by the Mumbai Police maybe the tip of an iceberg, and there could be other television channels, which too may be adopting similar sinister methods. I hope the Ministry of information and broadcasting takes some stringent action to put an end to such acts. First of all, they should fix up a cap for advertisement between News and other programmes, which eat away two-thirds of the time. The Ministry should also fix advertisement tariff for 10 seconds and so on. I hope something good will happen due to this revelation.
From Mr N Mahadevan
Chennai, India
World Food Day: Need for global food security
World Food Day falls on October 16, and this year the theme is ‘Smart Solutions for Healthy Diets’ (“Nobel Peace Prize winner World Food Programme acknowledges UAE’s support in providing food aid”, Gulf News, October 09). COVID-19 is no longer just a global health crisis, but its economic and food security emergencies for millions of people living in extreme poverty around the globe. Significantly, the World Food Programme won this year’s Noble Peace Prize for its efforts to combat hunger and for its contribution to bettering peace in conflict areas. One of our biggest challenges will be food security, and the most affected will be farmers, fishermen, and the deprived classes of the society. The global goal is to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030, and without addressing climate change, we cannot reach this target. Rising greenhouse gas levels result in changes in the climate and environment. This brings about an increase in temperatures, which adversely affects crops and aquaculture, among other things.
We often read and talk about energy conservation and the 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), but do not always comply. Unless we take immediate positive steps towards energy conservation, these will continue to affect the climate of a place resulting in failed crops and barren lands. Failed crops result in huge losses to farmers who abandon farming. Farmlands are then turned into commercial or residential homes. A 2019 UN report says that one in every nine-person in the world finds it difficult to get a partial meal per day. Statistics say 1.3 billion tons of food produced is wasted or gets lost. These figures will drastically rise should no measure be taken. The new generation greenhouse in the UAE is a new concept which recycles water evaporated from plants to condensation and reuse it. Globally, agricultural universities should come down to the masses and develop hybrid plants and seeds, which should adopt for the present climate change and affordable for our farmers. Severe drought has led to a shortage of food, water, and energy across the globe. The World Food Programme estimates that around 265,000,000 people will soon be on the brink of starvation because of the novel coronavirus. Let us not waste our food and make sure to share and care for our needy people and together fight world hunger, especially during these challenging times.
From Mr Eappen Elias
Dubai
Overcoming the fear of COVID-19
COVID-19 has been a monster for the past several months now. It has forced the entire world to stay indoors. Quarantine and curfews compelled numerous businesses to halt all operations. Until just a few weeks ago, some virtual stores were capable of delivering locally, and partially to a few nominated zones, while brick-and-mortar stores were forced to partially shut down, dampening the hustle and bustle of crowded marketplaces across the world. Not only that, but the death toll is still rising in some countries, as this unprecedented outbreak continues to spread. Coronavirus cases are declining in many parts of the world. Who knows if the virus will rise again or not in the future? Regardless of the harsh consequences of the pandemic, there are still lessons to learn from this crisis. Indeed, we can always find hope for a better tomorrow.
From Mr Amin Saleh
Saida, Lebanon