MyVoice: Views of our readers 11th June 2021

Take care of orphans

It is of particular poignancy that many children have been orphaned in the Covid-19 pandemic. All of a sudden these children find themselves without the loving care and protection of their parents. The condition of the orphaned children is too sorrowful to think about. It makes us contemplate on the nature of human life and what the future holds for them. If we are really a caring and humane society, we have to empathise with the orphaned children and take care of them.

The decision about leaving the orphaned children to the care of surviving close relatives, adopters or care homes should be informed by their safety and welfare. How each child is treated must be constantly and closely monitored so as to ensure that no child is trafficked and forced into dehumanising work. The vulnerability of children should not be allowed to be exploited.

The state must intervene and protect these children when circumstances change and work against them. The Child Welfare Department must have oversight of how these children are looked after and brought up.

It is some comfort to learn that the central and state governments are promising help to children who have lost either both or one of the parents to the disease. The Supreme Court has also stressed the need for ensuring no break in the education of children hit by the pandemic.

The governments and the wider society should provide children orphaned and abandoned since the Covid-19 outbreak all the support they need to meet their basic needs, pursue their education and realize their full potential.

G David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Covid patients and hospitals

Private hospitals are in the business of health care, not for charity but on commercial lines. In the process they may deliver quality medical care with speed and efficiency. They don't get any government support and are keen to make a tidy sum in the process.

There is nothing unethical in that as long as ethics are not undermined. In the recent upheaval during the pandemic , we were hearing of a lot of instances of Covid infected patients incurring huge medical expenses at private hospitals.

In a government hospital, political power sometimes helps one to get expeditious attention and treatment and the cost is negligible. The doctors there also normally depend on physical examination rather than diagnostic investigations. The main difference is that a doctor working in a government hospital has enormous exposure by way of outpatient departments.

However this pandemic revealed the phenomenal dedication and competence of doctors in government hospitals. Recent investigations by the state government and imposition of bans on private hospitals look a sham. These hospitals went to the courts when government reviewed the position and directed the concerned hospitals to refund the excess amount charged to the concerned patients. This is a cruel joke.

The very fact these hospitals agreed to refund excess amount tantamount to acceptance of a malpractice which deserves certain punishment under judicial laws. Further how does one assess the quantum of excess charged? The whole exercise seems to be just to hoodwink the citizens as well as the judiciary. The moot point is that these patients have opted to get treated at these hospitals. Further the government did not have adequate health infra which might have forced them to take such decisions.

The whole issue has to be judged with the investment made by the hospitals to establish the infra. It is time the courts also refrained from playing to the gallery and take up cases within its scope with due reference to the technicalities involved. It is time the courts allowed the executive and administration handle the problem with the help of political leadership. The courts should keep a watch and interfere only at apt moment.

J Kannan, Hyderabad

Illogical argument

This refers to the write up by Madabhushi Sridhar Acharyulu. It is difficult to understand the logic of the writer, why he is making an exception to AAP ruled NCT that clearly comes under the category of a Union Territory, like any other UT in the country, in an attempt to make the Centre a monster for curtailing powers of AAP which is in Delhi.

This rule of limited governance by Kejriwal's AAP is not specially created or tailor-made for Delhi, this trend is applicable to all UTs in the country; and any needless grumbling by AAP for its power and authority being curtailed will not hold water.

Nothing prevents Kejriwal from taking any meaningful decision in Delhi NCT; which did not suffer from such syndrome, when Congress chief minister Sheila Dikshit, was in power as CM for ten years. Mrs Sheila Dikshit perfectly understood her powers not to antagonise Delhi police or LG.

She had known her rules well, while Kejriwal pretends not knowing them, despite having requisite education and cunningness in this regard. Some irrational murmur was evident in the Pondicherry too, that proved to be mere ego complex on part of the chief minister.

The AAP despite winning almost all seats in the assembly elections in Delhi, resorted to cheap and irrational populist measures like free water, electricity, and free ride for ladies in the metro and buses, and failed to be inclusive in the national and security scenario of the country, unnecessarily siding with the anti-CAA protestors, JNU tukde-tukde gang agitation, and openly extending support to irrational and mindless agitation by Kisan unions, against the well-meaning measure, in fixing MSP and remunerative price for farm products in the country, to shore up the pathetic plight being endured by the farming community in the country.

It was inevitable that irresponsible tantrums being played out by Kejriwal had to be finally curtailed by introducing a new Bill, in helping draw a line to help the CM understand his range of power and authority.

K V Raghuram, Wayand