Time to change system of government

  THE prevailing Westminster form of government has not done any good to the country. There is an all-round despondency. People, by and large, have started condemning the obtaining system of government.

During these 51 years in real terms India has reached nowhere. No less than 40 per cent of the population is below the poverty line.

I do not deny that some large scale industries have been established in the country. Yet there is awful unemployment in the urban and rural areas. About 60 per cent of the people still are almost illiterate. Even piped water has not been made available to more than 70 per cent of the people.

The system of government adopted has, instead of mitigating the suffering of the common man, added some new and horrible ailments, which have made the country socially, morally and economically bankrupt. Politics today stands criminalised. Third and fourth-rate leaders look at the ministerial chair as a means to amassing wealth.

The 11th Lok Sabha lived for just two years, instead of the statutory term of five years. The byelection to 12th Lok Sabha was foisted on the people by the power hungry and wolf-like politicians. The expenditure incurred on this was not less than Rs 10,000 crore. If this huge amount had been utilised for creating employment, it would have gone a long way in bringing happiness to the poorer sections of the population. Can a poor country like ours afford to have the luxury of this type?

Fear of another byelection looms large. Under these circumstances a fool-proof system of government has to be brought in India so that the resources and energies of the people are channelised into constructive activities. The USA Presidential system of government, to my mind, will be most suitable for the country. A committee of experts should be appointed for the purpose of studying it and making its recommendations.

NARESH RAJ
Patiala

Save tubewells

For a long time Mr S.P. Malhotra, an authority on water management, has been cautioning the governments of Punjab and Haryana regarding the imminent failure of tubewells. Because of the abnormal withdrawal of underground water by 14 lakh tubewells, and the absence of any initiative for recharging the same, we are inviting a serious problem.

It is a multiple problem. On the one hand, the level of usable (sweet) water is steadily going down, thus starving the tubewells, on the other, in some areas the level of brackish water is rising. It is a well-known theory of science that water keeps its level. The brackish water is continuously seeping through to enter the vacuum caused by the discharge of sweet water. The disaster this brackish water can cause to the cultivable land is beyond description. It can also result in underground geological disturbances.

If immediate steps are not taken for crisis management, time is not far when this food basket of India will be left with a begging bowl; the Green Revolution will give birth to a brown (desert) revolution.

It is high time an expert committee of civil and agricultural engineers, farmers and financial pandits finalises an action plan to save the two states from an imminent catastrophe.

J.K. MAGO
Panchkula

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Theog needs fire station

It was the most heart-rendering scene that I witnessed on February 19 — wailing families helplessly watching their homes being destroyed before their own eyes in a devastating fire at Theog in Shimla district. By the time a fire engine from Shimla reached the place everything had been reduced to ashes. Had there been a fire station at Theog the destruction could have been avoided.

There is a pressing need for a fire station in the town. The Himachal government should give the matter a serious thought.

URMIL SOOD
Ludhiana

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A train disaster averted

I, along with my family members, had a chance to travel by train (No 2477 Up, Jam Jat Exp) on 16.2.99 from Ahmedabad to Ambala Cantt through AC 2-Tier. The whole compartment was full of passengers. It was about 11 a.m. when our train was about to reach Kota (WR) we heard a drastic noise from the left side wheel of the coach. When the train reached Kota we brought this to the notice to the railway authorities. After checking the wheel, the staff concerned gave the green signal and allowed our train to proceed to the next station.

On our way to Sawai Madhopur we again noticed a massive amount of smoke in the coach, and it continued to increase as we proceeded. On reaching Sawai Madhopur at 1.30 a.m. the authorities were surprised how the Kota authorities checked the train and gave the green signal. The wheel of the coach was jammed, in a semi-burnt stage.

The authorities remarked that if it would have travelled for another 15 minutes, the coach could have caught fire or even derailed. It might have caused a disaster. By the grace of God we just escaped.

Our coach was separated at this station, but we were not provided with any alternative. We were told to find place for ourselves in the train during midnight with aged women and children and heavy luggage. Coolies were not available at the station. The authorities did not bother to help us at all. We had to travel by finding a place in the corridors of another coach near toilets with our family and luggage throughout our journey to Delhi.

K.G. RANA
Chandigarh