Health first

• Sir - World Health Day is observed every year on April 7. This year, the aim was to increase awareness about diabetes. Although healthcare progressed by leaps and bounds in the 20th century, we still have a long way to go. It is alarming that India has one of the highest numbers of diabetes patients. To make matters worse, more and more young people are developing heart ailments. A nation can only progress if its citizens are healthy. There is a pressing need for the Indian government to provide affordable and quality healthcare services to everyone, especially the poor.

Yours faithfully,
T.S. Karthik, Chennai
 

In bad taste

• Sir - The comment on Twitter made by the Bangladesh cricketer, Mushfiqur Rahim, after India's defeat against the West Indies in the semi-final of the recently-concluded ICC World Twenty20 tournament, was in bad taste. After the match, Rahim posted a tweet expressing happiness at India's loss. This did not go down well with Indian fans, who were distraught after the defeat. After receiving a severe backlash for his comment, Rahim was forced to apologize and remove the offensive tweet.

It is unbecoming of an international cricketer to behave in this manner. Rahim was probably elated at India's semi-final defeat because of the bitter disappointment felt by Bangladesh fans after their team's narrow loss to India in the Super Ten league match. However, in the past, even when India has lost to Bangladesh, the media and fans in Bangladesh have mocked the Indian team. In 2015, India and Bangladesh played a short bilateral one-day international series in Dhaka. India lost the series 2-1. A leading Bangladesh daily published a caricature showing top Indian players, including M.S. Dhoni and Virat Kohli, with their heads half shaven and under the towering presence of Mustafizur Rahman, the young pacer who had destroyed India's batting line-up. Then, Bangladesh fans circulated a highly inappropriate picture on social media ahead of the Asia Cup final in 2016 - it was a Photoshopped image of the Bangladesh bowler, Taskin Ahmed, holding Dhoni's severed head.

I am disappointed with Rahim's tweet. Instead of allowing him to make such comments, the Bangladesh Cricket Board should make him take responsibility for Bangladesh's loss to India - he lost his wicket at a crucial point in the match. Bangladesh cricketers and fans must learn not to express their emotions in an ugly manner.

Yours faithfully,
Wazir Hossain, Calcutta

Parting shot

• Sir - In the article, "Enforce the law" (April 5), Malvika Singh has rightly pointed out the loopholes in India's labyrinthine legal structure that allow law breakers to get away with their crimes. It is not only the income tax department that indulges in bribery; corruption is deeply entrenched in all corners of the administration in this country. Who will enforce the law when the people entrusted with the job accept bribes? There have been instances where the houses and properties of prominent Indians have been seized, only for the charges to be mysteriously dropped later. Bribery is not viewed as a serious offence in our society. Defaulters of the law will always be treated differently on the basis of their wealth and clout; the powerful ones can evade taxes and default on loan payments with impunity. To make matters worse, they will be treated as though they are the most law abiding citizens in the country.

Yours faithfully,
Pulak Bhattacharya, Calcutta
 

FROM ODISHA

Old problem

• Sir - It was shocking to learn from a recent article published in The Telegraph that many sick residents of Cuttack are depending on herbal medicine and traditional healers ("Trust quacks to treat jaundice", March 27). Comments made by health officials suggest that infected people are not going to a treatment camp opened in Jobra simply because they prefer the traditional methods used by quacks.

The government must commit to its recently announced awareness campaign. Without such an effort, the knee-jerk reaction of the government to open health camps will not solve this problem permanently.

Yours faithfully,
Pritish Biswal, Cuttack

• Sir - The state government should take up extensive awareness programmes to ensure that citizens do not fall prey to superstitions. It is the lack of education that leads to the survival of outdated beliefs. Doctors and medical staff should travel to villages and slum areas to explain the need for scientific treatment. It is astonishing that so many people in Odisha are resorting to quackery to combat jaundice.

Yours faithfully,
Monalisa Patnaik, Cuttack
 

• Sir - Jaundice has become a regular phenomenon for the people of Odisha thanks to administrative apathy. Not only has Cuttack fallen victim to the disease for the second consecutive year, but now Bhubaneswar, the so-called Smart City, has seen an outbreak as well. The state government highlights its success in technology and sanitation. Frequent occurrences of water-borne diseases, however, tell a different story.

Yours faithfully,
Rakesh Pradhan, Khurda
 

• Sir - It may be the 21st century, but people in rural and tribal areas of Odisha are branding little kids with hot iron in the belief that this practice will cure rare diseases. In fact, such practices are currently on the rise. Children might die out of pain from this torture. Nonetheless, the state government lags behind in educating the people and providing healthcare in remote areas. This apparent regression is typical of a growing India in a new century. Such ironies would best be avoided.

Yours faithfully,
Upasana Dutta, Rourkela
 

• Sir - Every day we read newspaper reports about the killing of innocent people, especially widows, due to the suspicion that they carry out witchcraft. It shouldn't be necessary to say that this is a superstitious belief. Although the state government has enacted a law banning witch hunts, the practice is still prevalent in some tribal areas. The detection and conviction rate is very low. On many occasions, the entire community is involved in the barbarity. Such crimes cannot be stopped by law enforcement alone. Social activists should come forward to help eradicate the evil.

Yours faithfully,
Ramachandra Murmu, Baripada
 

FROM BIHAR

Bone dry

• Sir - I fail to understand as to why total prohibition was announced so very suddenly ("Dry facts", April 6). The chief minister, Nitish Kumar, says that he was overwhelmed by the response of women after the announcement of the partial ban. Hence, he decided to go for total prohibition with immediate effect. It is a pity that the chief minister did not even consider the fact that so many people will face tough times, mainly unemployment, because of such a move. The liquor business is huge. A number of industries are directly or indirectly linked to it. How can Kumar talk of investment, boosting tourism, and so on, when he knows that prohibition will hit these sectors hard?

In places like Dubai, to cite one example, there is a ban on the sale and purchase of liquor. But alcohol is available for the people in hotels and restaurants with licences. I don't see the logic in stopping the sale of liquor in bars, restaurants and clubs. People want to enjoy themselves with friends or family in a club or a bar. The decision to ban alcohol in the state is like taking Bihar back to a time when the people did not have the means to enjoy themselves.

Prohibition would also have an adverse impact on investments. There is a possibility that the tourism sector would be hit hard because of prohibition.

There are only 38 de-addiction centres across Bihar. It is strange that the chief minister thinks that the number is adequate to tackle the problem. The decision to impose prohibition has been taken in a hurry in order to contain the mismanagement the state had to face when it failed to open government liquor shops due to the lack of adequate planning.

Yours faithfully,
Amit Anand, Patna

Hard times

• Sir - I would like to highlight the dismal state of Bihar's universities. None of the state universities figured in the National Institutional Ranking Framework list. Patna University, the state's oldest university, did not make the cut. Patna University was established in 1917. It was once considered to be a premier institution in eastern India with students from far-flung areas coming to study in the institution. The jurisdiction of Patna University extended to Odisha. Ravenshaw College was established in 1868 under Patna University. The university's alumni included such luminaries as Rajendra Prasad, Jayaprakash Narayan, Sri Krishna Singh, among others.

Students from the university dominated various examinations, such as the one conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, and engineering and medical entrance tests. The deteriorating academic standards can be attributed to the lack of interest among teachers and staff to change things for the better. Shortage of teaching as well as non-teaching staff and the dearth of infrastructure are the other reasons behind Patna University's rapid downfall.

Yours faithfully,
Uma Shankar Prasad, Patna