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II
To Chitleen K Sethi’s scoop I would like to add that this malpractice debars deserving students from getting admission. This gives rise to a vicious cycle, as those who pay such money for admission like to earn by hook or crook. Such doctors bring a bad name to the noble profession. The authorities concerned should take corrective and effective measures. ANITA KATARIA, Patiala
III
The editorial “Dubious medical admissions” (Sept 29) and the investigation by Chitleen K Sethi are eye-openers. One did not know that the rot ran so deep that a premier medical institution like the PGI fell prey to it. What is worrying is the fact that these rouge agents or fixers offer seats in medical colleges all over India if one is willing to pay the right price. One can imagine the plight of middle class students, who study hard and burn the midnight oil so that they can get admission to some prestigious medical college. They are denied the reward of their labour because some rich person’s ward makes it to the merit list at their expense. In our country, there is no accountability and judicial process is so slow that, more often than not, the real culprits go scot-free. ARUN
HASTIR, Babehali, Gurdaspur
IV
The editorial has highlighted the decline in our system of governance and lack of accountability. As a result, no field remains untouched by corruption, which has become a cancer without any cure and is steadily spreading to every sinew of the nation. Scams and scandals have become a routine affair in our democratic system. The exposure of the admission scam by The Tribune deserves appreciation. The racket of unscrupulous agents securing MD seats in the prestigious PGI by charging a hefty price from aspirants is just the tip of the iceberg. Many medical colleges are involved in the sale of seats. The entrance tests are a farce. Backdoor admissions through manipulation do take place. All involved in this racket must be given deterrent punishment. Capt S K
DATTA, Abohar
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Save elephants
Elephants have been dying in three distinct pockets of the country because of the activities of three different agents over the last three decades. Killings for ivory was largely confined to the forests of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. No one knows the exact number, but in one state bull elephants were hard to come by. With the gunning down of Veerapan, the menace of poaching has slowed down — it has come almost to zero level.The second killing grounds are the forests which surrounded the junction of Jharkhand-Orissa-West Bengal. Loss of migration corridors leads to property and crop damage. So, frenzied mobs in groups of 30 to 300 armed with country guns, explosives and spears traumatise herds and kill a few. During the last 15 years, there have been deaths on railway tracks largely in Assam, West Bengal, UP (Rajaji Forests) and Jharkhand (Daltongunj area), but never as many in a single accident as the seven mowed down recently. I had written to Ms Mamata Banerjee when she was the Railway Minister in the BJP-led NDA government that these deaths could be avoided through rigidly enforced speed-checks in selected sections, by playing recorded texts (remotely controlled/automated) in the cabins of train guards and drivers on entering the danger zone. In passenger trains a different text can be played to motivate and educate passengers about elephant survival imperatives. Ms Banerjee sent me a polite reply as to why train speeds cannot be reduced. She cited reasons of inconvenience to the people and economic loss to the country. Will the minister and we Indians acknowledge the gruesome tragedy and put an end to it? Lt-Gen BALJIT SINGH (retd), Chandigarh
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