Street legal
The pretensions of Team Anna of leading an entirely apolitical campaign came down a peg when it waded into the Hissar by-election (Team Annas new call: Make laws in streets,IE,December 12). That the teams real focus is the upcoming assembly elections is coming through. Anna Hazare will continue with his objections to every version of the Lokpal draft. As for the BJP,they have already outsourced the counter-offensive to the Congress campaign in UP to Hazare so that they can focus on fighting Mayawati.
R. Narayanan
Ghaziabad
THE BJP and other opposition parties shared the stage with Anna Hazare on Sunday. While they fully or partially supported the Jan Lokpal bill drafted by Team Anna,their appearance was symbolic and meant to embarrass the government. They also declared that Parliament is supreme. Parliament as an institution is supreme,but not its members. Hazare should intensify his movement,spread the message in all poll-bound states and ask people to vote for parties whose candidates who are committed to the Lokpal. Electoral results should then show who is supreme.
N. Ramamurthy
Fireproofing
THE ghastly fire tragedy at the AMRI hospital in Kolkata (Hospital kills,IE,December 10) raises the question of culpability vis-a-vis such institutions,all the more so with reports of inflammable material being stored in the hospitals basement,a practice common in hospitals. If this is not criminal negligence,then what is? Mamata Banerjee has taken immediate action to revoke the hospitals licence and arrested its board members. But this should be taken to its logical conclusion by giving them exemplary punishment.
S. Kamat
Bardez
THE fire at the AMRI hospital in Kolkata was horrific not only because of the deaths but more so because of the callousness with which the disaster was managed. Security guards locked the gates to keep rescuers and relatives out,delaying the call for aid. Super-specialty hospitals mint money from their patients but cut costs on essential safety measures. Its time for the government to come down heavily on defaulting hospitals,withdrawing their licences until they put in place a credible fire-fighting system.
Suren Abreu
Dam hysteria
The politicians of both Kerala and Tamil Nadu have whipped up mass hysteria over the Mullaperiyar dam. The accusations and counter-accusations are getting shriller. As a result,the problem is becoming intractable. The Kerala government has done a great disservice by creating a fear psychosis among the masses about the dams safety,which has to be decided by experts in structural engineering. The Tamil Nadu government is guilty of being insensitive to the concerns of the people of Kerala over the dams safety.
V. Rajalakshmi
Mumbai
