Helmet’s preventive role

THE dictum “Prevention is better than cure” is becoming more relevant and true day by day. Applied to road traffic, the prevention of accidents will save innumerable human lives besides leading to enormous national savings.

Flooding of hospital emergency wards by road accident cases is a common sight these days. It puts tremendous pressure on the already weak emergency health care system. It even deprives the genuinely ill patients of getting proper treatment and attention which they so urgently deserve. An avoidable financial strain results in further deterioration of the health care system both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Preventing an accident is the best way to save human lives. Medical science always stands for the prevention, cure and amelioration of human sufferings. Many dreaded diseases have been prevented from spreading by the use of vaccination. It is in this context that the useful role of the helmet in the prevention of head injuries, cervical injuries, etc, comes into play. It is statistically proved beyond doubt that a proper and properly worn helmet results in a marked reduction in both mortality and morbidity. Full-faced “ISI”-marked helmets are the best. Poor quality and improperly tied helmets may save us from being challaned, but the purpose for which it is meant gets defeated.

The grim toll represents a death every 50 seconds and an injury every two seconds around the world. The developing countries are the worst affected areas, accounting for two-thirds or more deaths. Even worse, the mortality rate is increasing in the developing countries by 13 per cent or more every year. Trauma is a 100 per cent preventable cause. By the turn of this century the death due to accidents is likely to go up to four lakhs per year in our country.

When soldiers complained to the great soldier-saint Guru Gobind Singh about Bhai Kanhaiya helping enemies by treating their wounds, the great Guru made his followers understand the significance of human values. Any work done for the sake of humanity is a great work. How true and relevant his words are!

So, don’t worry. Ignore this necessary evil. The day is not far off when cumbersome, ugly-looking headgear (helmets) will be replaced by nice-looking, lighter fancy material, without, of course, compromising on its protective function.

(Dr) RAKESH KHULLAR
(Traumatologist)
Chandigarh

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Disadvantaged Punjabis

Are the admissions to the technical institutions in Punjab made according to the rules or the whims of the officials concerned? I believe that it is their whims which count more than anything else. The latest case in support of this belief is that of my son Bhavesh Kalia (Roll No 1416014; marks 626; rank 655). He was not allowed to appear before the interview board of the Punjab State Board of Technical Education and Industrial Training, Chandigarh, for JET-1999 on August 4 on the pretext that the candidate did not have the domicile certificate of Punjab.

He had sought admission as a resident of Chandigarh (which is the capital of Punjab) for which no certificate should have been required. But the official at the reception counter torn his admission papers into pieces and asked him to leave the place. This was highly disgraceful on his part. Moreover, this shows that the candidates of Chandigarh whose parents work in private undertakings here have no scope to get admissions to the technical institutions in Punjab despite their being Punjabis. This matter needs a thorough probe.

KULDIP KALIA
Chandigarh

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Moral education

Keeping aside its political aspect, Mr O.P. Chautala bowing to touch the feet of his father, Mr Devi Lal, to seek his blessings immediately after swearing in as Chief Minister of Haryana (the photo was published on the front page of The Tribune dated 25.7.1999) should inspire the people of their bounden duty to respect their parents. This underlines the need for launching a movement to revive the culture of giving proper respect and regard to one’s parents and other older people to whom the year 1999 has been dedicated by the UN.

I as a senior citizen would like to invite his attention to the need for launching a programme of spreading moral education in Haryana. One way of doing this is by introducing a subject in the schools on moral education.

It is generally felt that the older people are a neglected lot. The main factor responsible for this is the absence of moral education at the foundation stage.

R.K. JAIN
Jagadhri

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Funny situation

In his letter “Kashmir: scrap Article 370” (July 29), Mr R.L. Singal has rightly observed that whereas Indian jawans “have a duty to die for Kashmir, they or their parents have no right to live and settle in that state which we repeatedly call an integral part of India. Where else in the world do we find such a funny phenomenon?”

However, there is no need to find such a “funny phenomenon” somewhere else in the world. It can be seen in Himachal Pradesh, where the people of other states have no right to purchase land to settle there. It is also an integral part of India.

In the wake of its formal accession to the Indian Union, Kashmir has become an integral part of our country and shall remain as such whether or not Article 370 is scrapped.

Here I am reminded of the following lines of a poet:

Un ka jo shevah hai voh arbaab-e-siyaasat jaanein

Mera paighaam mahabbat hai jahaan tak pahunchey

(“Arbaab-e-siyaasat” means politicians.)

BHAGWAN SINGH
Qadian