MyVoice: Views of our readers 21tst May 2020

Let elected representatives donate money

It is quite absurd that the governments, corporates and companies – big and small – are cutting down payments, deferring them, decreasing benefits and sacking employees, all in the name of corona pandemic. States are waiting for the illusionary Rs 20 lakh crore package of Union government to boost their economies while Opposition parties are crying foul over the myriad schemes offered by the Central government.

We have a total number of 545 Lok Sabha MPs, 245 Rajya Sabha MPs and 4,120 MLAs across the country, let alone MLCs and hundreds of others holding Cabinet ranks and corporation chairman posts. Even if they gave Rs 5 lakh each, a total of Rs 20.45 lakh crore can be collected. This itself will do to boost the economy and bring back normalcy in the country. If these politicians are honest and sincere to their electorate who voted them to power, let them come forward and donate the amount for the cause of public. This is my humble request as an Indian citizen.

J Lakshmi Rajam, Subhashnagar, Nizamabad

AP govt's inhuman act

Dr Sudhakar Rao, a government civil surgeon, was beaten, his hands tied behind his back, and dragged by the police last Saturday, before bundling him into an auto-rickshaw and taking him to the police station. He was suspended for questioning the shortage of PPE kits, and was admitted to a mental health facility. He was allegedly manhandled by the police and arrested for creating a nuisance in Vishakhapatnam.

Dr Sudhakar, who spent more than 10 years at the Narsipatnam Government Hospital in AP, was suspended from his duties in March after he openly criticised the Jagan Mohan Reddy government for failing to provide PPE kits and N95 masks to doctors treating Covid-19 patients. The manner in which Dr Sudhakar was manhandled by the police was "inhuman" and it "violated" human rights. We strongly condemn the way he was taken into custody. He was not carrying a weapon, he was alone, and the number of policemen outnumbered him. Why treat him like that? We also see the videos where policemen cruelly beating him with a lathi. If this is the case towards most experienced anaesthetist s in AP, we can imagine the vindictive role played by the State. It is an inhuman treatment meted out to a Dalit doctor for questioning the inefficiency of the government. The government is trying to project him as a mentally challenged person to defend their action.

Dr Muvva Ramarao & Dr M Suresh Babu, Praja Science Vedika, AP

Introduce double decker buses

While much relaxations are on cards during the lockdown-4, and especially operating the RTC bus services are left to States, the respective authorities should plan to operate bus services to accommodate more passengers. Most of the States are planning to operate city buses with fifty percent of passengers and modified the seats accordingly. But, in order to meet the rush, it is now necessary to operate double decker buses in cities like Hyderabad and also plan to introduce trams which will be more purposeful during the situation.

T Sri Kumar, Jamia Osmania, Hyderabad

TS' efforts to rescue farmers laudable

It is creditable that the government has been initiating several developments to alleviate the agricultural calamity at this critical point in time. Issues are being raised by numerous farmers' unions across the country in the interest of peasantry at large, for getting economic relief, because of late harvesting, labour shortage and ever-changing procurement policies. The National Agriculture Market could be an individual platform for all integrated services, starting from crop marketing to direct payment. The farmer has become a pawn within the hands of the commission agents. It has become a necessity to eliminate the middleman from the process to safeguard the interest of the farmers by making the latter attentive to e-NAM, the only feasible solution.

Dr N Khaleel, KPHB Colony, Hyderabad