M A I L B A G

Give primacy to safety of buildings

Realty boom has attracted a number of builders to Punjab and the areas around Chandigarh. In fact, this has become a national phenomenon in each and every city and town.

Fast construction of residential flats is in progress and people are booking flats at high premium. Builders are on the prowl for every spare and saleable inch of land to acquire it and build flats.

What is worrisome, however, is that low-lying lands are being acquired, filled up and used. Such pieces of land have a low bearing capacity and building multi-storeyed flats over them may prove very risky.

It is desirable that the foundations are taken sufficiently below the natural ground level and rested on the stratum having adequate bearing capacity.

JAGVIR GOYAL, Civil Engineer, Chandigarh

Help her take the IAS exam I refer to Aditi Tandon’s report “Write your own exam, UPSC tells girl with dysfunctional hands” (April 7). One does not know when will our babus learn about the human values. In fact, such a mindset makes me wonder whether they look after their family members too in a similar fashion within the “framework of rules”. The GOI officials have still not learnt that the rules are meant for the people and not vice versa. These should be interpreted in a manner as to the benefit of the person and not otherwise. The babus at the Centre and in the states should be told to be more humane in their outlook and approach. Sunita Dogra, who has dysfunctional hands, must be provided a scribe to write her IAS exam in May this year. The existing rules must be changed immediately. Lt-Col JIWAN SHAROTRI (retd), Kasauli

Back to square one

The ECHS is a cooperative insurance scheme. It was designed to provide better healthcare to ex-servicemen. A well conceived scheme has, however, been hijacked by vested interests of the Armed Forces medical fraternity. This is clearly an effort to provide jobs to ex-service medical personnel.

The ECHS has found a wasteful system in the form of clinics which provide very limited and basic cover. They are just a referral link with the empanelled hospitals. They often cause avoidable delay in urgent treatment. They are unable to provide all the medicines.

These clinics use the bulk of limited resources of the scheme on employment of manpower, hiring of transport and so on. Funds for settlement of bills of the empanelled hospitals are thus reduced. Apparently, as the ECHS has run out of funds, its clinics have been directed to refer all cases back to the service hospitals instead of empanelled hospitals. We are back to square one. It is time to disband the ECHS clinics and authorise members to deal directly with the empanelled hospitals.

Col B.I.S. CHEEMA (retd), Chandigarh

Unjustified strike

Notwithstanding the Centre’s acceptance of the SBI employees’ main demand for 50 per cent of the last pay drawn as pension, the recent strike was illegal. The customers suffered very badly. Was it proper for the SBI employees to hold the country to ransom? Why didn’t the Centre invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) on the employees?

SHER SINGH, Ludhiana

India’s population

Vice-President of India Bhaironsinh Shekhawat, in his inaugural address at a function at Hardwar’s Patanjali Yogpeeth recently, said that India’s population is 102 crore. This is incorrect. According to the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, our country’s population is close to 112 crore.

Dr L.N. DAHIYA, Rohtak

Delimitation plan

The Delimitation Commission has reportedly chalked out a schedule for public hearing of objections vis-à-vis the draft proposals regarding Assembly/ parliamentary constituencies in Himachal Pradesh. Strangely, however, the draft proposals have not been published in leading newspapers of the region, thus inhibiting the public to file objections, if any, within the stipulated period. Shouldn’t the vital omission be rectified soon in public interest?

Further, should not the persons who have already submitted representations vis-à-vis certain constituencies reeling under an unduly prolonged spell of reservation be intimated by the commission about the specific draft proposal about the said constituency?

TARA CHAND, Ambota (Una)