Whispers Forum

Private hospitals are money-making machines. Initially, when land is allotted by government to private players at concessional rates, tall promises are included in the agreements. These are broken after hospitals become operational, hitting the marginalized sections. No action is taken by the health and land allotting authorities across the country against malpractices in flagrant violations of terms of original agreements. Take the case of Delhi, which mirrors the image of the entire country. The private hospitals in the national capital refuse to admit poor patients and give priority to cash-rich patients. There is no mechanism in place to check malpractices by hospitals for issuing dictates and insisting on cash payment, charging exorbitant fees. They make lame excuses, including refusing treatment to CGHS beneficiaries under the mandated cashless norms. Some common tactics misused by money-minded hospitals and doctors to cheat or fleece the gullible patients are : (a) Prescribing more tests than necessary - to be done in house or at preferred labs for hefty commissions. Sometimes these tests are not even conducted on the samples taken, and fake results are given. Have you heard about sink test, a health care fraud?(b) Keeping patients admitted in hospital rooms when they are fit to be discharged; (c) Prescribing expensive medicines/vaccines when cheaper and quality substitutes are available. This benefits the pharma companies and doctors who prescribe them and inflate the patients’ bills;(d) Charging patients at different rates for the same treatment;(e)Doctors insist on surgery while the disease could be cured by medication. If you are still not convinced he’ll say that he needs to send a tissue from your throat or elsewhere to test for malignancy. One cannot argue in such a situation;(f)Use of cardiac stents in heart disease, even if not needed – one stent may cost anything between Rs. 60,000 -100,000 or more depending on the status of hospitals and pockets of gullible patients. Will the governments take the call and control the unethical practices in the healthcare system?
A K Saxena ( A former civil servant)

Holiday means a holiday not a pilgrimage? It is likely to get Yes and No for an answer. But visitors to Ayodhya since January this year are saying that it is the best holiday destination once in life! Funnily though, there is another side to the story. The travel industry has been thriving on selling destinations for real pleasure showing lovely beaches and tourists, food, drinks and drugs. Unlimited pleasure at unlimited cost for unlimited days! What else can one ask? But if destinations like Ayodhya develop in India both for pleasure and happiness, it is likely to hit a surreptitious business of cultural assault on India. Too much success has already been made by mounting the charm offensive against the bulwark of Indian culture- the family unit. If holiday destination is unable to retain attention of the clients for any reason, all assiduous work of the last 7 decades will go waste. In the name of women’s empowerment, they are being promised rupees 1000 per month! The dignity of the Indian woman for just 10 US $ per month? They make tall claims that recipients will become independent financially and shall no more beg their husband/father for money and can go to the market to buy whatever they want. If a wedge can be driven in the family by $ 10, it can in due course add to the number of pleasure seekers to the industry.
M L Gupta

The elite Civil service called the IAS has turned into an oligarchy that is out- of- sync with the ground realities. The simmering discontentment among some 20 other downtrodden organised services due to discriminatory treatment, might trigger a grassroots rebellion This could throw the elites out of office. Giving a 2 year initial edge to Indian Administrative Service officers over those from less-fortunately circumstanced civil services, is arbitrary, irrational and bad in law. This results in recurring damage to the career progression of other bureaucrats, who feel constantly discriminated against. The artificial distinction hitting the bureaucrats belonging to other services, below the belt, merely fuels the on-going inter-Services acrimony. PM Modi alone could remove the dichotomy by over-ruling the vested interests. The Government is urged to take the call. My motive is not to hurt anyone. If anyone feels hurt for holding contrarian views, I seek apologies in advance.
A K Saxena (A former civil servant)

Where are the members of the Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam being taken in this century? The twenty first century born have a better idea, as they are natives to the smartphone, internet & AI culture and foresee the future with aplomb unlike the worried earlier born gen. In their view Covid in all its variants is experiment for population control as it has already reached 8 billion. Those in the 80 to 100 plus years age add to the planners worry as there is not enough food or shelter or health facility for all of them after 2050. Besides, AI is going to replace more than 90% of workers and jobs. Employment etc. are going to become a thing of the past. Moreover, the human mind can’t match the speed of AI in finishing a job with almost 100% accuracy. Currency is going to die in a few months as UPI is going to become safer, faster and hygienic. The technologically super powers are likely to tone up the planet earth by slimming & trimming humans and their operations. Almost every industry and business will need upgrading or upskilling, if there is any hope to do business and we will have no newspapers, TV channels, cinema or opera houses.
M L Gupta

BJP is preparing to make the Sandeshkhali incident in West Bengal the biggest issue in the Lok Sabha elections. The party has prepared a strategy to not only keep this issue alive till the elections but also to launch a powerful statewide movement. It is being said that under this, PM Narendra Modi may frequently visit Bengal. As a counter strategy, Trinamool Congress has also decided to launch the party's election campaign through a brigade rally on March 10, just after the Prime Minister's visit. It remains to be seen amidst all this politics, whether justice will be done and the perpetrators brought to book.
Ankita Kumari