Lives in danger
? Sir - The Supreme Court has made it compulsory for riders and pillion riders to wear helmets. However, people often choose to wear helmets of low quality. Why is the sale of such inferior-quality products allowed, given that it puts lives in danger? People pay about Rs 200 for these spurious products; authentic helmets would cost them Rs 1,000 or more. Are riders willing to risk their lives just to save a few hundred rupees? The sale of low-quality helmets should be banned. It is important to save lives, not create livelihoods for people who manufacture spurious goods.
Yours faithfully,
K. Ravi, Bhubaneswar
Too dirty
? Sir - Patna has been adjudged one of India's dirtiest cities. This should be a matter of shame for the Patna Municipal Corporation as well as for the state government. The chief minister, Nitish Kumar, recently inaugurated a flyover in Patna and complained that urban voters did not respond to development. While construction of flyovers is welcome, Kumar must realize that to gain the confidence of Patna's voters, he needs to do much more. Civic amenities here cannot be compared with those in other state capitals - not even with those in Ranchi. The data released by the Union government on the cleanliness drive is a case in point. A lot more needs to be done in such sectors as health, education and roads.
The PMC should be dissolved. Patna should be placed under the direct charge of the urban development department.
The mayor and corporators are busy battling the chief executive officer. Meanwhile, the piles of garbage get bigger. Five years ago, the government had outsourced garbage collection and disposal to a private concern. Patna had started to look clean. But there was a dispute over payment and the services were withdrawn.
Many of Patna's commercial places stink. Kumar should take up the issue personally and provide better civic amenities to the people of the state capital. How can he claim development in a state with a capital notorious for its garbage?
Yours faithfully,
Asha Kumari, Patna
Parting shot
? Sir - Rajballav Yadav has been charged with raping a minor girl in Nawada. The Rashtriya Janata Dal legislator, who has been suspended by the party, allegedly has a criminal track record. Yet he was able to get a poll ticket. There are allegations of Yadav using money, muscle power as well as his ability to remain in the good books of prominent politicians to get away with his misdeeds. This makes a complete mockery of democracy. A number of politicians have gone unpunished because of their hold on the administration and the weaknesses in the judiciary.
The Patna DIG should be complimented for the quick investigation and arrest. Politicians must be brought to book so that people can gain confidence in the system. Yadav should not go unpunished if the charges against him are proved.
Yours faithfully,
Arun Kumar,
Patna
Lives in danger
? Sir - The Supreme Court has made it compulsory for riders and pillion riders to wear helmets. However, people often choose to wear helmets of low quality. Why is the sale of such inferior-quality products allowed, given that it puts lives in danger? People pay about Rs 200 for these spurious products; authentic helmets would cost them Rs 1,000 or more. Are riders willing to risk their lives just to save a few hundred rupees? The sale of low-quality helmets should be banned. It is important to save lives, not create livelihoods for people who manufacture spurious goods.
Yours faithfully,
K. Ravi, Bhubaneswar
Dignified end
? Sir - There is no denying the suffering people undergo when they have terminal illnesses or live in a vegetative state. Their suffering also affects their family members and the people who tend to them. The tragic case of Aruna Shanbaug has underlined the need for a proper law on euthanasia. Shanbaug lived in a vegetative state for over 42 years after having been brutally raped. The only people who looked after her were her fellow nurses in the hospital she worked at. Such suffering cannot be articulated in words. Just as people have the right to live with dignity, a terminally ill or a paralyzed patient with no hope of recovery should have the right to die in a dignified manner.
Although the practice of euthanasia may come into conflict with the doctors' primary job of saving lives, a law on it is the need of the hour. It is a matter of concern that in India, a law on euthanasia may be widely misused. In such cases, doctors should not be given unbridled powers to act. Instead, a committee of experts should examine all the provisions of the law in India. It should ensure that the law is implemented in such a way so as to honour the wishes of the patient. If euthanasia is carried out, it should benefit the patient, who would otherwise have had to live in a vegetative state. There should also be a nation-wide debate on the subject.
Yours faithfully,
N.R. Ramachandran,
Chennai
Grey area
? Sir - According to the rules of cricket, the West Indian bowler, Keemo Paul, was well within his rights to do what he did to earn his team a place in the quarter-finals of the under-19 World Cup. In the match against Zimbabwe, he got the batsman at the non-striker's end out. He removed the bails at the bowler's end when the batsman was only a fraction outside the crease.
However, such dismissals, often referred to as 'Mankading', are considered dishonourable and not in keeping with the spirit of the game. It is the job of the International Cricket Council to decide whether it wants to uphold the spirit of the game or go strictly by the rules. It can think of ways to integrate the laws and the spirit of the game, so that the two do not clash. If the spirit of the game is important, then such dismissals should be outlawed. It is imperative for the ICC to take a clear stand on the matter.
Yours faithfully,
Sabyasachi
Chowdhury, Calcutta
