Apology for a hospital

Patients who are being treated at government hospitals have been complaining of lack of facilities which has been ratified by an MLA, as reported in The Tribune dated September 7. The poor and unhygienic facilities at government hospitals have been exposed by MLA Nirmal Singh, who opted for Government Rajindra Hospital for treatment of Covid after testing positive. Just in a day, he got himself shifted to a private hospital because of lack of cleanliness. We can imagine the fate of the common man who has no such alternative, and are also unable to raise their voice. That is the reason why those who can afford to, do not go to government hospitals. With huge amount being spent on these hospitals, the government cannot run away from its accountability of providing best facilities in all government hospitals, and make it mandatory for all government officials to get treatment only at these hospitals.

BD Sharma, AMRITSAR

Fake degree scams

Refer to ‘Detecting fake degrees’ (Sept 7); fake degree rackets are flourishing everywhere in India. It devalues the grand thought of shiksha. The government seems to be in no mood to check the spread of private universities which don’t hesitate from supplying fake degrees. The question of verifying the degrees is raised after one has joined a particular post. These should have been examined much earlier. The UGC should set such norms that put stringent checks on private universities. There should be a clear identification between a real and fake degree so that even a layman can distinguish between the two.

Kapil sharma, Kaithal

Attributes of a principal

Apropos of ‘A principled principal’ (Sept 7), I too had the privilege of serving under principals who were contemporary of revered Principal Nath and were cast in the same mould: GC Jain and his successor RN Monga of SA Jain College (Ambala City), and Dr HR Juneja and his successor Dr HR Jindal of MM Modi College, Patiala. One endearing quality of these gems of the teaching fraternity was that they were masters of their subjects and teachers par excellence. They led the faculty with their classroom performance and had a common belief that ‘a principal is a teacher first, administrator afterwards’.

Surindra Lal, Patiala

A karmayogi

It was a treat to read the middle ‘A principled principal’ (Sept 7). Principal Nath, a towering personality, was a karmayogi whose dream was to see DAV College, Chandigarh, as the most ideal educational institution in our country. I remember an interesting incident, when a procession of angry students reached the college. Principal Nath was at the entry gate with folded hands. The protesters asked him to allow students to join the procession. He politely said, ‘I have no objection; you may request the students to join the procession.’ Unbelievable, but not a single student came out of the college premises. He had such a hold on the student community.

VK Anand, Chandigarh

No laws for netas

Reference to ‘Covid norms: cops more harsh on activists than netas’ (Sept 6); though Article 14 gives equal protection of law to all, and equality before law, but that does not happen on the ground. Incarcerations are for the common people who are breaking the rules. If netas are arrested, it would make a tawdry campaign, claiming ‘public leaders offering help were arrested on alleged pressure by the ruling party’, which would be a bigger conundrum.

ABHISHEK PERIWAL, FAZILKA

Indian Army’s gesture

Apropos of ‘Three Chinese motorists stray into Sikkim, rescued by Army’ (Sept 6), the Government of India should highlight this internationally, and in China, through print, social media, etc. People across the world can understand that Indians, including Indian Army personnel, are friendly to all, even if they belong to hostile nations. It is unfortunate that the leaders of China are aggressive in nature and indulge in land-grabbing. If they don’t change, the world community will teach them a lesson.

Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad

Metro services

The resumption of Delhi Metro services has been taken in the interest of the general public, but the running of Metro rail at this stage may become a source of another upsurge in the number of Covid cases. As per the history of various unlocking phases, the cases have jumped up with opening up of each activity. With the running of Metro rail, the chances have increased multifold.

SANJAY CHOPRA, MOHALI

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