The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Agriculture & WTO: This is with reference to the news item “Exclude agriculture from WTO purview”. This is a hard reality that the Indian farmer is not globally competitive. In other agriculturally advanced nations with whom he has to compete, agriculture operations are highly modern.

Before bringing the farm sector under the purview of the WTO, agricultural needs to be revisited. Education of farmers should be given top priority so that they can compete globally. At present per acre production of grains is almost 30 per cent of that in agriculturally advanced nations. The government should strengthen extension services.

Till the farmer here is competitive, WTO norms in agriculture and allied sectors such as horticulture and animal husbandry should be kept in abeyance. Farmers should be given liberal inputs to improve their production. They should be encouraged to take up these activities commercially.

More emphasis should be laid on post-production management of products. At present post-harvest management is very poor which is fetching poor price for our products. The recent rejection of our consignments of wheat should act as an eyeopener. This has to be done if we want to save this vital sector which provides livelihood to 60 per cent rural population and contributes 40 per cent of the national income.

Dr K.K. SHARMA, Dharamsala

Wheat rejected again: Apropos your editorial “Indian wheat rejected again” (June 1), I feel the mandarins in the FCI are a totally callous lot as they have failed to learn a lesson. For the third time wheat shipments to Iraq have been rejected.

This is quite in line with what we see inside the country. All these days we see press photographs of wheat bags lying in the open on FCI account in the mandis or godowns and getting rain-soaked. This is quite a common sight in Haryana at least. They do not bother to cover the bags even with polythene sheets.

Dr JAGDISH BATRA, Sonepat

Shameful: No country can compromise on the quality of wheat and rice today. States once dependent on Punjab for foodgrains have become self-sufficient. Even the quality of their wheat and rice has proved to be better than that of Punjab. For a better quality of wheat that too on cheaper rates, Punjab floor mill owners go to their mandis. Isn’t it shameful for the Punjabis?

If we follow the norms and specifications of Iraq and Canada, our entire stocks of wheat will be declared unfit for human consumption.

B.S. SHARMA, Amritsar

The two-child norm

It is gratifying to note that a small village of Khandavar, about 20 km from Bhopal, has taken the initiative to curb population. The village panchayat has come down heavily on the couples producing more than two kids, penalising them Rs 10,000 each. In case they are unable to pay, their movable and immovable property is confiscated. Government help routed through the panchayat of the village is denied to them. This step by the panchayat is really commendable whereas our central and state governments have failed to take any result-oriented step to curb the population.

The Himachal Pradesh State Election Commission has been bold enough to notify that any aspiring office-bearers of the Zila Parishad or the village panchayat should not have more than two children and the third child will amount to disqualification.

Our governments need to take strict measures to stop all incentives for the persons having more than two children. Disqualify them for elections, deny them government and private jobs, admissions to professional or non-professional colleges.

P. S. VIRK, Patiala

A dead man’s heart

For the past few weeks we have been reading about an interesting story of the missing heart of a jail inmate who died nearly a year ago. The body of the victim had been sent for a post-mortem examination at a Patiala hospital.

The Punjab Human Rights Commission has ordered an inquiry into the missing heart. You do not need to be a medical expert to know that human organs cannot be transplanted easily, specially a heart, which needs advanced medical expertise.

Then why such a mad search for a dead man’s heart when millions of living hearts need nourishment, help and care. Will the Human Rights Commission pay attention to thousands of victims crying for justice rather than madly chasing a dead man’s heart?

S. PURI, Panchkula

PTU & B. Arch exam

In Punjab Technical University ground realities are worse than those reported in the media. Giani Zail Singh College of the Engg. and Technology, Bathinda, proposed the date of the B. Architecture exam (under the old scheme) as 11.6.2001. The students got their roll nos. But the university failed to confirm the proposed date sheet and the place where the exam was to be held in time, creating uncertainty among students, besides causing them financial loss.

RANJIT SINGH, Patiala

Railway timetable

The Railways announced its timetable on July 3, 1999, through the Press, though it was effective from July 1. The timing of 2497 Amritsar-bound Shan-e-Punjab was changed to 6 a.m. from 6.50 a.m. Since the timetable is always ready well in advance, it should be released to the Press well before the effective date.

HARI OM MITTAL, Ludhiana

No happy ending, this!

This refers to the editorial “A neat operation” (June 13). While rightly praising the operation, the editorial went on to exclaim that the “ending” of the sordid drama was “happy”! The insensitive expression was avoidable. For writing editorials/letters while sitting in AC rooms is poles apart from facing death/bullets actually.

We lost, on our side, at least two lives — not a “happy” occasion indeed (ask the families of those dead!). The faith of many innocent people got hurt because of the physical damage to the mosque — again not a “happy” occurrence! Six militants lost their lives — and I don’t consider this too as a “happy” incident for, death, even of an enemy, never calls for a celebration!

BALVINDER, Chandigarh

Ministers sans work

A group of about 30 junior ministers have complained to the Prime Minister that the senior ministers with whom they are attached have not allotted them any official work and they have to sit idle in their offices.

This raises certain pertinent questions: why don’t the lucky ministers just enjoy the idle time? Or do they feel that as they have no official files to handle, they can neither oblige people nor utilise their potential to make an extra bulk?

Why don’t the idle ministers just quit their ornamental ministerial office in the larger national interests? After all, their continuance in office does put a burden on the state exchequer. Who can deny that a poor country like India can ill-afford to keep white elephants?

TARA CHAND, Ambota (Una)

PGI’s regional role

The P.G.I. Director deserved kudos for helping private nursing homes in allowing their medical waste being incinerated (June 11). This model of help can be further extended in the following ways.

The P.G.I. mechanised laundry can easily process nursing homes linen in a scientific, infection-free environment, even by running the laundry in a second shift.

The P.G.I. can easily start a mobile workshop for preventive maintenance of hospital and biomedical equipment in the city/region. In the early eighties P.G.I. workshop technicians used to go to all H.P. hospitals. Investment will pay back in two years, reduce idle period of equipment and save on replacement costs.

The PGI was running in-service training programmes such as diploma in hospital engineering (100% funded by AICTE). Candidates came from Nepal, U.P. for training. There is no such programme in South-East Asia. The P.G.I. can easily become the MOH’s Centre of Hospital Engineering as in Falefield, London.

Also the PGI’s Centre for Research in Medical Architecture & Consultancy (fourth in the world, Ist in S-E Asia) was conducting research and offering consultancy for hospital designs, clinics etc. Even HSCC, MOH was created on the P.G.I.’s proposal.

The P.G.I. was the birth-place of the above speciality in 1971 under the advice of the late P.L. Verma and R.N. Dogra. As the first head of the department (69-84), I know for certain WHO, AICTE etc will offer funds. What is required is vision and action.

DR. J.C. MEHTA, by e-mail