Unscrupulous profiteering

A lot of concern has been seen in today’s situation regarding inappropriate pricing of essential drugs and oxygen by unscrupulous people whose objective is to make profit by whatever means. I wish to draw the attention of the authorities towards the hefty payment demanded by ambulances. In this crisis, ambulance drivers and owners have jacked up their prices to unimaginable levels. A trip from Karnal to Delhi, which used to cost about Rs 3,000 in normal times, is now Rs 50,000. Ambulances, being a numbered commodity, can easily be regulated by the administration and strict action taken against defaulters.

Sandeep Chaudhri, Karnal

Lockdown is needed

It is a shame that so many deaths have taken place due to the lack of oxygen and medicines. Still, all politicians are playing politics. Lockdown is the only way to slow the spread of the virus, but the Punjab CM says it is not a solution. There is no national strategy to fight Covid and governments are under-reporting deaths. Night lockdowns do not serve any purpose to control the spread as there are not that many people on roads at that time. Why can’t governments close everything except basic necessity shops? How many more deaths are these politicians waiting for, to evolve a strategy to control the virus?

Maninder sekhon, by mail

Lockdown not for teachers

The Punjab Government has imposed weekend curfews, but why is it not for teachers? When students are not coming to school and the teachers are teaching online, there is no point of calling them to school. The teachers are coming from different places and could spread the virus. Work from home must be encouraged.

Himani Jain, by mail

How is it a crime?

The SC’s directive to state governments to not take coercive action against helpless people sharing their pain on social media wraps in itself a component of humanity and social justice. The common man was astonished and horrified by the unjustified action taken in similar cases by the state under the National Security Act. Is airing one’s genuine grievances on social media a crime?

VK Anand, Chandigarh

Vaccine hesitancy

Another life lost to Covid. Who is to be blamed? The government or doctors or us: the so-called educated lot? People don’t abide by rules or laws put in place for their own safety, be it traffic rules or advisory issued for Covid vaccination. The Army has been deployed to tackle the tsunami of Covid patients, and this is only possible because the armed forces are 80%-85% fully vaccinated against this deadly virus. The government spends crores to formulate a vaccination strategy and we people tend to let ourselves drown in WhatsApp forwards. This is how a catastrophe takes place.

Amarpreet Kaur Bhandohal, Nabha

Test villages

The initiative by the Punjab Government to supply ‘Fateh Kits’ to Covid patients at their doorstep is laudable. The kit contains 17 items, including an oximeter, a thermometer, medicines and a steam inhaler. To lend more support to the welfare programme, it is required to create awareness among village folk who still refuse to acknowledge the existence of the virus. Special teams must be sent to villages to persuade people to get tested. Panchayats have to play a proactive role.

Aswant Kaur Gill, Tarn Taran

Both sides negligent

We have to admit that neither the Centre nor states were prepared for this humongous wave of Covid (‘Oxygen imbalance’). As the scramble for oxygen in the Capital continues, it clearly shows bad planning. Due to the hazardous nature of liquid oxygen it needs special tankers, which requires advance planning. Both the Centre and the Delhi Government were sleeping till things went out of hand. The government has now activated the Railways to move multiple tankers and we are importing oxygen tankers. Let’s just hope the situation doesn’t get worse.

Vipul sharma, Kurukshetra

Empowering the L-G

At a time when people are struggling to live, parties are engaged in dominating one another. A CM is the head of the legislative Assembly and is the choice of the people who give him the power to run a state. Is it okay to reduce a CM’s powers and empower the L-G with more power, because the CM belongs to another party? Is it applicable only to the Capital? The President keeps the same power at the Centre, should he do the same? The welfare of the people does not depend on powers, but a leader’s will and concern. An elected member of the state is the choice of the people. Someone deputed by another party should not be supreme. This was not the time to amend the GNCT Act. This is the time for cumulative efforts.

Sanjay Banyal, Hamirpur

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