Addressing the woes of Indian doctors

Sir,

S N Chary's article (Let us get real, DH, Jan 3) on the woes of the doctors in our country, is timely. In my considered opinion, the salaried class of doctors are treated poorly in India. As a result, many end up doing private practice.

Also because of poor salaries, the concern for service may not remain high. The successful medical graduate, if at all employed in government health department on a contract, will get a meagre salary of about
Rs 10,000 per month. The postgraduate specialist is in a worse state.

The specialist is close to 30 years of age with no prospect of a job in government hospitals. The private ones do not employ them and instead let them earn for their hospital or nursing home and take a cut.

It is important to appreciate that health is a treasure and government must offer the best for the public to guard the same. Healthy society makes a healthy country.

B N Gangadhar
Bangalore

SEZ policy

Sir,

Special Economic Zones (SEZ) are duty free areas for creation of class infrastructure to attract Foreign Direct Investment with many concessions for imports and exports. SEZs are treated as industrial townships. According to SEZ policy, contiguous and wasteland should be utilised. However, in India, many SEZs have come up in irrigated and dry cultivable lands.

In this regard, the government of Goa deserves to be congratulated for scrapping SEZs considering recommendation of the special task force. India is agrarian and its livelihood is agriculture based. Priority should be for formation of Indispensable Agricultural Zones (IAZs) rather than SEZs, as the main stay and livelihood are agriculture based.

M MAHADEVAPPA
Dharwar

Irresponsible cops

Sir,

How can Mumbai Police Commissioner D N Jadhav continue in a highly sensitive and responsible post when he termed the New year eve molesting of two women by a mob outside a five-star hotel as a “minor” incident blown out of proportion by the media. Public-statement of authorities should give a healing touch to victims even though the incident might have been caused by negligence of the victim.

SUBHASH C AGRAWAL
Lucknow

Umpiring

Sir,

The umpiring in the ongoing cricket series between India and Australia is below par. The decision in the 2nd test by Steve Bucknor has hurt the Indians and what looked like an opportunity to square the series looks impossible now. The third umpire too has let the Indians down with a wrong verdict which again went in favour of Andrew Symonds. It is time these erring umpires too are treated like players who are dropped for losing form.

K AMUL CHANDER
Bangalore

Language row

Sir,

Using one language does not mean insult to the other. Without creating any controversies the autorickshaws can have number plates written both in Kannada and English. If English has become a king then let Kannada be its crown. But, please use both the languages.

Nikhil Kumar
Bangalore

Bird trade

Sir,

Several avian species in the country have been threatened due to the rampant and unchecked trade in birds.

Over a million birds are trapped every year and more than 60 per cent of them die in transit while being transported to the markets due to shock, stress or injury. About 300 bird species are sold in markets annually, proving that the Wildlife Protection Act that prohibits the capture and trade of birds is ineffective. These sensitive and intelligent creatures should not be imprisoned in cages.

SUSHMITA SHRIVASTAVA
Bangalore