MyVoice: Views of our readers 4th October 2023

Avoidable deaths

31 deaths in as many hours at a government hospital in Nanded city in Maharashtra has turned the spotlight on the state of the public healthcare system in our country. The claim of the success of ‘universal health coverage’ is belied by these deaths. It is sad to learn that deaths like these occur despite a good scheme like Ayushman Bharat. The avoidability of most deaths became apparent from their attribution to shortage of medicines and lack of medical staff for timely treatment. Usually impoverished people depend on and access government hospitals, however badly they are run, for health care. The lives of the poor are not cheap or expendable for governments to keep hospitals run by it unable to provide health services to its beneficiaries. It goes without saying that it is a primary responsibility of a government to deliver quality health care for all people – ‘all’ being the operative word. The right to life involves the right to health. The point is that health care must be viewed as an entitlement and not as charity. Governments must increase health care spending significantly to make hospitals places where lives are saved and not lost. Health is wealth. The Union government can double it from the current 1.4% of the GDP to fix and improve the health system.

G David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

***

Nanded hospital horror has caused a flutter in the health services of our country. Having seen the best through the torrid time of Covid19 and now we face newly born succumbing to the poor state of treatment. Nearly 24 children died in 24 hours and that is a dubious record after all. The count goes like this: 12 newborn, six of them were 2 days old, while the other were a day old. It included two snake bite victims as well. Apart from these 7 patients succumbed to serious ailments and one during childbirth, which is rather rare nowadays and 2 heart attack cases. This is all due to lack of medicines and the shortage of medical officials in the hospital. What is the use of allocating funds to such hospitals from the government? In all, the carefree approach cause such serial hospital deaths.

C K Subramaniam, Navi Mumbai

Reservation system requires rejig

Definitely Bihar caste - based survey has created a political ripple across the country. While Nitish Kumar boast that this data can be used for inclusive development policies,growth oriented programmes and educational reforms, the other side BJP rattled it as an attempt to spread illusion among poor. Now the data will prompt the state to revise its existing reservation policy to increase the quota for the OBCs. The caste-base survey has justified the need to amend its reservation system to give greater benefits to the OBCs and EBCs. Modi Government from long time has side stepped the issue for different political reasons. The caste- based survey definitely highlights the economic status of people. Now demand will be raised to conduct survey across the nation.

Zeeshan, Kazipet

Indian politics thrive on ‘Divide and Rule’

Prime Minister Modi should by now be well versed with appeasement policies of all politicians (including himself!) in our country. According to him the opposition is dividing the society on caste lines, but the Indian society was in general already divided on caste lines by the Britishers first and the Congress Party continued the same policies i.e, divide and rule, whether it was on caste lines or religion (minorities appeasement). Modi and his party, however, cannot escape being accused of playing religious politics. If the opposition is trying to divide the society (meaning Hindu) on caste lines, Modi and his party are dividing the society on the basis of religion in the name of Hindutva and polarisation of Hindus. Both are wrong but their respective political existence depends on the basic policy taught to us by the British: “Divide and Rule”!. It is a pity that India, even after 76 years of Independence cannot ‘find’ good politicians who respect the values of democracy, equality and the rule of law.

Govardhana Myneedu, Vijayawada

BJP highly undemocratic

The farmers organizations and workers unions are demanding the dismissal and prosecution of Teni, who they accuse as the conspirator for the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. It said the united farmers’ struggle had succeeded to force the Prime Minister to tender an apology and repeal the three Farm Acts in the Parliament. It said 735 farmers died during this historic agitation. “The Modi government has been authoritarian in nature and brought the notorious Essential Defence Services Act criminalising the strikes not only by the defence sector but all related services and even those who support strike. BJP and the right-wing state governments are highly undemocratic, unleashing repression and terror and evoking draconian laws including UAPA against the workers, farmers and other sections of the people who are raising their voice for their rights and entitlements and against anti people policies,” it added.

Tauqueer Rahmani, Mumbai