Opinion Fatal blow
The government must,more actively,scan incoming passengers at airports. So far,this job has been confined to ineffective paperwork....
•Its very sad to learn of the death of the young school girl (First India H1N1 death…,IE,August 4). The government must,more actively,scan incoming passengers at airports. So far,this job has been confined to ineffective paperwork. The burden of a likely epidemic cannot be borne by hapless citizens,especially when the virus is passing indigenously. A timely awareness drive could have mitigated its spread. But since the virus has claimed its first fatality,efforts should be made to equip hospitals and chemists with the antidotes available. In Pune,as in most other Indian cities,state-run hospitals are trying hard but are desperately out of depth and resources to handle all cases. Lessons should also be learnt from,say,the US,which has a high incidence of fatalities due to swine flu,but has also instituted a system to tackle disease outbreaks. Its Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has wide-ranging powers and can even issue national advisories to control any disease. India must be better prepared in this regard.
R. Gupta Pune
Route legal
•Buta Singh is being unreasonably angry. His contention that,as chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes,his sons arrest is a political ploy of victimising him does not hold water. His son,Sarobjot Singh,has been implicated in an intriguing web of alleged corruption. There is evidence of an apparent conflict of interest given the fathers official responsibilities and the sons activities. Itll take some time for the intricate layers of truth to unfold. Buta Singh should let the law take its course.
Pachu Menon
Goa
No excuse
•This refers to the editorial Blaming everyone else (IE,August 3). The decision of the airlines operators to suspend operations and the subsequent reversal of their strike,thanks to the Union governments firm stance,both exposed their opportunism. Nobody deserves preferential treatment,not even the civil aviation industry. Rather,essential service providers cannot inconvenience those dependent on their services. When all industries are affected by the global recession,and are doing the best they can under the constraints,why should our airline barons hold us to ransom?
Raghu Seshadri
Risk and change
•The opposition hasnt managed to convincingly argue its case against the Sharm el-Sheikh joint statement. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invoked his predecessor A.B. Vajpayee to justify his bold initiative. But the BJP chose to stage a walkout despite a formal and civilised debate in Parliament. It should be noted that the PM invoked Vajpayee in the spirit of action,not in detail. What difference does the inclusion of Balochistan make? Rather,India has shown that it has nothing to hide. Our diplomacy can no longer remain changing a phrase here,or adding a word there.
Bidyut K. Chatterjee
Faridabad
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