Editor,
Some letters/articles invariably make one sit up and think hard. The letter ‘Generic drugs’ by Neeloybrata Das (ST, May 30, 2012) is of that kind. Even I would like to lend my voice to this good cause. The writer rightly lays bare how the private drug companies mercilessly rake in the major profit share for themselves by charging exorbitant prices for drugs which are otherwise available at considerably cheaper rates with their generic nomenclatures. One would urge the social activists and concerned NGOs to relentlessly put pressure on the Government and also on medical doctors who have the proclivity to prescribe multiple drugs without showing any compassion towards the patient.
The Government and health agencies should wake up and take a serious note of this now. If we immediately have a dozen outlets for generic drugs across the state it would soothe the pangs of the poverty stricken masses who can hardly earn enough to feed themselves. Alleviating the woes of the public must be the prime concern of the authorities in power.
Yours etc.,
Salil Gewali
Shillong-2
Perversion of sports
Editor,
This is in response to the news report “Anand checkmates Gelfand, wins fifth World title”(31 May). In recent months we have witnessed how the nation went gaga over a personal landmark of an individual which was ultimately achieved by wasting precious deliveries that not only “helped” the team to lose the match against the minnows Bangladesh, but also prevented India from emerging in the final of Asia Cup as well. In spite of such selfish acts which actually assaulted the interest of the country, the shameless brigade continued to cry themselves hoarse by demanding Bharat Ratna for the “God”! Next came the farce named IPL scandalised by allegations and/or facts of match-fixing, molestations, rave parties, ugly verbal fights and lewd dances of skimpily-clad girls. And the greatest joke got delivered by the intellectually-bankrupt Kolkatans and Bengalis by madly celebrating the triumph of a team, almost bereft of local players, whose sole connection with the city is merely in its symbolic name of ‘Kolkata’ only! As if the lunacy on the part of common public and Bengal media were not enough, even the “Paribartanwalas” who accuse the Left Front of rendering the coffers of West Bengal “empty”, extravagantly squandered millions of public money on the filthy-rich cricketers of a privately-owned club!
In such an embarrassingly sorry state of sporting affairs, the news of Viswanathan Anand’s achievement of winning the fifth World Title has indeed arrived as a draught of cool rain after a prolonged arid spell. Indeed he is the real Ratna of Bharat.
Yours etc.,
Kajal Chatterjee
Kolkata
Society must fight the militants
Editor,
The Mendipathar incident in which some unidentified persons made an attempt to kidnap a catholic nun must be condemned by all right thinking citizens. Whichever organizations/individuals are responsible, they are not human beings. They have crossed all limits. We hang our heads in shame!
Why did they want to kidnap a lady? What wrong did she do? According to my limited information she has been a sincere social worker for many years. Through her intervention Garo rubber growers got a better price for their goods. Even the state government officially recognized her work by presenting her with the Pa Togan award on Republic Day this year in Shillong. So the kidnapers are anti-poor, anti-development and anti-empowerment.
If they had succeeded in their kidnapping bid where would they have kept her and with whom? Does this mean that the concerned organization has women cadres? The government should take serious note of this. Now a women’s wing is formed. Who knows tomorrow suicide squads will be formed. They will do anything to terrorize the people of Garo Hills.
The government should leave no stone unturned to hunt down these criminals. The police must be given a free hand to wipe them out. Civil society must be alert and not lend any support directly or indirectly to these militants. No money should be paid to them. Meanwhile, the society as a whole must also find out why our children join such groups led by thugs. Are they school/college drop outs? Unemployed? Are they SSLC or HSSLC failures? This is a serious issue which must be nipped in the bud before it goes out of hand. Even if our children, for some reason or the other could not succeed in their studies, there are numerous schemes by which they can be trained so that they find meaningful employment. The whole problem is that we want easy and quick money in abundance. We parents, educators, religious leaders have to instill in the youngsters the spirit of hard work. There is no substitute for that!
Yours etc.,
Damchi R Marak
Guwahati