Bleak picture

Sir - The editorial, "No country" (Oct 17), talks of the pathetic condition of women in India. The nation has made significant progress in the past few decades. But there has not been much improvement in the social condition of women. If India wants to be counted among the advanced nations, it must make efforts to empower its women.

Indian society thinks that men are superior to women. But women have outperformed men in many fields. For instance, Ira Singhal and Tina Dabi topped the civil services examination in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Women hold top positions in government as well as in private enterprises. Yet, they are discriminated against. The girl child is seen as a liability by her parents and married off at an early age. This compels her to drop out of school. Teenage pregnancy is quite common. In many cases, it leads to infant and maternal death.

The editorial rightly points out that there are many laws to protect women. The problem, therefore, lies in the enforcement of these laws. Both the Union and the state governments will initiate many more policies in the future, but such attempts will remain fruitless unless the basic problems are addressed.

Yours faithfully,Ashim Kumar Chakraborty, Guwahati

Sir - According to a report by the McKinsey Global Institute, an advancement in women's equality could add up to $12 trillion to the global gross domestic product by 2025. Authorities in India should take note of the report as the condition of women is deplorable. Unicef figures suggest that 7,000 fewer girls were born each day in India in 2006 owing largely to foeticide. This was due to the prenatal sex determination technology that was cheap and widely available. Although the problem has now been brought under control, it is far from being resolved.

The Centre has introduced various policies to counter sex-selective abortions. Schemes such as Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao and the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana have been introduced with the intention of changing the attitude of society towards the girl child. The government must ensure that these schemes are implemented in an appropriate manner, especially in the rural areas. Clicking selfies with daughters or planting saplings when a girl is born will not be helpful.

Yours faithfully,Sambhu Nath Chowdhury, Hooghly

Sir - India has a poor sex ratio. There are 943 women for every 1,000 men. The child sex-ratio is as low as 919. The government must take necessary steps to contain the crisis.

Yours faithfully,Sujit De, Calcutta

 

Right choice

Sir - The controversy surrounding the Swedish Academy's decision to confer the Nobel Prize for literature on Bob Dylan is unwarranted ("Tangled up in blue", Oct 15). The fact that Dylan is a singer does not prevent him from being a poet. The choice of the academy indicates its desire to redefine the ambit of literature. In Dylan, the Nobel committee has found someone who has perfectly blended music and literature. Although one may argue that songs are not similar to poetry, Dylan's work is an exception. The Swedish Academy has, therefore, rightly acknowledged Dylan for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".

Yours faithfully,Mostafa Murshid Pasa,Murshidabad

Sir - The editorial, "Tangled up in blue", was thought provoking. The Swedish Academy's decision to honour Bob Dylan with the Nobel Prize for his contribution to literature has upset many. But as a teacher of English literature, I welcome the decision. In this context, I would like to mention that Rabindranath Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913 for his collection of poems, Gitanjali. Dylan has used music as a weapon to fight against corruption, torture and racial prejudice. At a time when religious and ethnic violence bleeds the world, Dylan's music remains a ray of hope.

Yours faithfully,Dilip Kumar Kar, Jalpaiguri

Parting shot

Sir - Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited is India's worst telephone service provider. Telephone lines seldom work. The authorities are not bothered about the problems faced by customers. My telephone went out of order recently. In spite of registering a complaint, no action was taken for 15 days. I visited the BSNL office several times to enquire about the status of my complaint. Other companies offer priority service to their customers. BSNL's indifference thus comes as a shock. Landlines are hardly used in the age of mobile phones. But the standard of service provided by BSNL would force its customers to surrender their telephone connections. One wonders why the government allows the organization to function in such an unproductive manner at the cost of taxpayers' money.

Yours faithfully,Mihir Kanungo, Calcutta

 

 

BIHAR

Growing menace

Sir — I am alarmed at the rise of biker gangs in the state capital. A few evenings ago, members of a biker gang allegedly beat up a member of a rival gang, and even tried to kidnap him. Thankfully, residents and the police intervened. Earlier, it was reported that a young member of a biker gang was murdered because he did not pay a gun supplier for a gun.
Biker gangs are a relatively new trend in Patna. They first emerged as thrill-seeking youngsters who used to ride their motorbikes at break-neck speed during busy hours in the evening. Their races with one another endangered the lives of common people. Now, it seems that these gangs have become involved in crime as well. These crimes involve murder, arms supply and kidnapping. This is even more appalling when one discovers that most of these boys are college students and come from well-to-do families. 

It is time for the Patna police to start treating members of these biker gangs as criminals. They are turning out to be a menace to society. Parents and schools should also take care to teach young boys the right values. Affluent parents should think twice before buying two-wheelers for their sons. The first step the police should take is to cancel the driving licences of the members of biker gangs. More stringent measures should follow thereafter.

Yours faithfully,Saurav Ghose, Patna

Wrong move

Sir — I would like to draw attention to a recent meeting between railway officials and representatives of Bihar’s road construction department. There are indications in the minutes that the advisor to Tejashwi Yadav, who is the deputy chief minister of Bihar, had told railway officials that the state government would not get other road over bridges constructed unless the railways gave its approval for six ROBs in Saran and Vaishali.

I would like to point out that the state government represents Bihar, and politicians do not have the right to stop development in other parts of the state by threatening Central agencies. If the stand taken by the advisor to the deputy chief minister at the meeting was his own, he should be removed from his post. If, however, he acted on the directions of Tejashwi Yadav, then the latter’s dream of becoming the chief minister will be even more difficult to achieve. He will remain a regional leader of Saran and Vaishali.

Yours faithfully,B.D. Sharan,Patna

 

 

ODISHA 

Recurring tragedies

Sir — The recent tragedy at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital — which claimed the lives of about 21 people — reveals the apathy of the state government when it comes to the enforcement of fire-safety norms in hospitals (“Several dead in hospital fire”, Oct 18). The accident could have been averted if fire prevention rules had been followed by the hospital authorities. Those in charge of the hospital must learn a lesson from this incident and devise fool-proof methods to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies. Fire-safety audits of both public and private hospitals should be conducted every month. There should be surprise checks so that hospital authorities do not get away with laxity. 

Yours faithfully,Sarathi Jena, Keonjhar
 
Sir — The allegations against the administrators of SUM Hospital are justified. They are the ones who are responsible for the safety of the patients and the hospital staff.
The Telegraph had reported that the hospital had violated all fire-safety norms. Although the hospital should have had water sprinklers, smoke detection systems and alarms in place, in reality, it had nothing. The hospital is a private one with more than 1,000 beds. It is shocking that it could violate all the fire-safety norms. The Odisha government should bring everyone responsible for the tragedy to book.

Yours faithfully,Naresh Bohidar, Sambalpur
 
Sir — My heart goes out to all those who have lost their loved ones in the terrible fire mishap at SUM Hospital. The agony of the patients’ relatives was exacerbated by the 
apathy of the hospital authorities, who allegedly did not help during the evacuation process. Stringent action should be taken against those who abandoned the patients during such a crisis. Not only the management but also the lower-level officials should be punished. Hospital staff across the state should be trained so that they can act swiftly when such an accident takes place. 

Yours faithfully,Sambit Patra, Berhampur

Sir — The loss of about 21 lives in the SUM Hospital fire should serve as a lesson for the state authorities. The government should deal with the erring officials with an iron hand. According to the relatives of some of the injured patients, the hospital did not even provide them with ambulances to transport the wounded to other hospitals. This speaks of apathy on the part of the hospital authorities. Stringent action should be taken against the guilty. The truth should come to light. A free and fair probe should be conducted.

Yours faithfully,Sanjukta Mahapatra, Balasore
 
Sir — The fire mishap at SUM Hospital is the worst fire tragedy in Odisha in recent times. The state and Central governments should conduct probes in other hospitals of the country so that such incidents are not repeated. Most hospitals in India flout safety norms. It is upsetting that in spite of the presence of so many supervisory bodies in India, such incidents keep on happening.

Yours faithfully,Mona Dalal,Bhubaneswar
 
Sir — The accident at SUM Hospital is fast turning into a political issue. Such a sensitive subject should not be politicized. The government should enforce fire-safety norms in all hospitals. The owner of SUM Hospital is not the only one responsible for the incident. Government officials who have granted permission to the hospital authorities should also be taken to task. It is high time the administration brought in new rules in light of the tragedy and enforced them strictly so that such incidents do not recur.

Yours faithfully,Jayanta Panda, Khurd