Letters to the Editor

By ruling against eco-terrorists, the court has also cleared the decks for multinationals who obviously know better about protecting the environment.Mr Saifudding Soz at the Environment Ministry knows well to come down heavily on industries that will pollute the skies even before they have come up, but will he be doing anything to curb the poaching menace within India’s own forests that would be denigrating the environment faster than any MNC would?

Industry Minister Mr Murasoli Maran has rightly pointed that there isno need to “distinguish between silicon chips or potatoes chips” and that “any chips that bring jobs are welcome”. Though this does not mean that we should throw away our concern for the environment, we must not allow such concern to dominate the scenario.

M. SHAHID ABDULLA

Laurels of the family

Sir: If there is one clear verdict in this election, it is the rejection of Mrs Sonia Gandhi as a vote catcher. Nowhere in the country the Sonia factor has reflected in the results. Neither in the North nor in the South. Voters have clearly rejected her appeal for votes in the name of the family’s virtues and sacrifices.

The Congress lost at Amethi and Rae Bareilly, the pocket-boroughs of the Gandhis. In Tamil Nadu, the State which reportedly has a special emotional chord with the family, it lost in all the constituencies it contested. In Uttar Pradesh, the home State of Nehru-Gandhis, it not only could not win a single seat, but also lost the deposits in most.

If Mrs Gandhi wants to servethe country, let her first work among the people and prove her credentials, instead of resting on the laurels of the family. Till then, the Congress leaders should believe in their own capabilities and rebuild the party rather than wait for 10, Janpath to come to their rescue.

C. SREEDHARAN Mumbai

National parties only

Sir: The just concluded election shows the rise in many regional parties and splinter groups. And ironically enough, some of these groups are even dictating terms to larger national parties.

Since 1977, several hotch-potch governments came and went by unholy alliances. Frequent changes in the government have only given a severe blow to the overall development of the country.

A Government formed with paper-thin majority has never worked in our country. A couple of MPs can easily tilt the balance.

If the nation has to survive, a stable government is a must and I hope at least in the next election any one national party gets a clear mandate.M. D. ANCHAN DombivliTheprice patients pay

Sir: It seems that doctors, pharmaceutical companies and chemists have teamed up to rob the hapless patients. Newer and innovative ways are being found out by medicos to exploit the patients. The `reference cut’ of 30 to 50 per cent on the bill amount charged by specialist and pathological laboratories damages the once sacrosanct image of the noble medical profession.

Arbitrary and unjustified rates of some medical products adds to the woes of patients. The difference between the cost price and the selling price of some intravenous injections and surgical items is a whopping 200 to 400 per cent. For example, the cost price of dextrose 5 per cent + normal saline 0.9 per cent is Rs 9.50 and the selling price of the same is Rs 29.9 + local tax extra. Similarly, cost price of an IV sets is Rs 8 and the selling price is Rs 35. There are many such products where the magical profit margin has lured general practitioner and large hospitals to stock them.

The government should enactnecessary laws to print both the cost price and the selling price on the products, so that customers are aware of the difference.

B. S. BOHRA Mumbai