Kota tragedy

Refer to ‘Kota infant toll 102’ (Jan 3); the deaths of so many infants in the Kota Government Hospital point towards a deeper crisis of healthcare in our country. There was an acute shortage of staff and sanitation was in a deplorable condition. Broken windows, non-functioning radiant warmers, absence of oxygen pipelines in the special newborn unit, pigs roaming on the hospital campus were also noted by the investigation team. An inquiry by the state government had also found infrastructure challenges. The primary and secondary segments need to have better resources and equipment, and adequate staff to ensure that the first response to critical cases is effective. Rajasthan and the Centre should see the Kota tragedy as a wake-up call, and embark on more comprehensive reforms. There is no need for UP CM Yogi Adityanath and BSP chief Mayawati to indulge in political blame game.

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PRAKASH HANSPAUL, by mail

Cut down court vacation

Refer to the editorial ‘Clogged courts’ (Jan 3); the staggering number of pending court cases has exposed the rot in the judicial system. Apart from a shortage of judges, long adjournments and lesser number of HC Benches, the practice of observing vacations in courts is also a cause of burgeoning pendency of cases in India. Except educational sector, no other government organisation observes such breaks. The government should dispense with the British era practice of vacations in courts, as it not only adds to pendency, but also puts financial burden on litigants, denying them the right of justice due to delayed delivery.

Anil Vinayak, Amritsar

Judicial backlog

Apropos ‘Clogged courts’ (Jan 3); expeditious disposal of cases has become an urgent need to solve pendency problems and grant timely justice to citizens. Fixing a mandatory time frame for every trial seems like a desirable solution, but is irrational since every case is different. Moreover, rushing with cases might compromise justice and certain facts relevant to the case might not be looked upon. To tackle this issue, it is necessary for lawyers to stop asking for unnecessary adjournments and be prepared with their cases for the sake of the justice system. Also, vacancies need to be filled by appointing judges as soon as possible.

Nissim Aggarwal, Chandigarh

Now, it’s Faiz poem

Refer to the dispute over revolutionary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Our country is going through a strange phase. Faiz wrote the poem in 1979, two years after Pakistan was eclipsed by a military coup. The poem came at a time when Zia executed Bhutto and turned Pakistan towards an Islamic state. Since inception, IITs have been a dream place for engineering aspirants. I think the dispute arose over the line ‘Bas naam rahega Allah ka’. While writing a poem, the poet has to take care of the meter scheme. What’s wrong if he mentioned Islamic god? In school, we would sing ‘Teri hai zameen, tera aasman’. It was when I saw the movie The Burning Train that I learnt that it was another version. The original had the word Khuda, which had been replaced with Prabhu. The Sikh ardaas has the line ‘Raj karega Khalsa’. Will it be next on their target?

DS Thukral, Ambala

Talk to Bangladesh

Apropos ‘Why mum on Pak minorities’ plight, PM asks CAA protesters, (Jan 3), the PM should have asked his Bangladesh counterpart to stop the persecution of minorities to end their migration to India in the form of refugees. CAA is meant for minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is a well-known fact that most refugees/infiltrators are from Bangladesh. Instead of advising crores of people, our PM should talk to his Bangladesh counterpart to address the problem.

Naresh Johar, Amritsar

PM’s question irrelevant

Our Prime Minister is questioning CAA protesters why they are ‘mum on Pakistan minorities’. Since the protest is not about minorities of this or that country, but is against the new law’s discriminatory tendency on the basis of religion, his question is irrelevant.

Balvinder, by mail

Control population

According to reports, on the first day of 2020, an estimated 67,385 babies were born in India, followed by China (46,299) and Nigeria (26,039). According to the UN World Population report, India is projected to overtake China as the most populous country by 2027. Overpopulation gives birth to several serious problems in any country. India must undertake expeditious measures to prevent such huge increase in its population.

RK Arora, Amritsar

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