Curbing Tigers

The news from India that Tamil Nadu is again becoming a safe haven for the LTTE does not surprise anyone who has been following recent events in the region.

It was just yesterday that Indian Police apprehended two Lankans and one Indian for trying to smuggle military jeep tyres to Sri Lanka’s North. A day earlier, five youths were held for trying to smuggle steel pipes to Sri Lanka, possibly for making explosives.

These are just two very recent incidents from a spate of such detections in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. A special report in the Times of India, which we reproduced yesterday, attributed several reasons for the heightened LTTE activity in Tamil Nadu. The LTTE is battered in the Northern battlefront and adversely affected by the loss of several of its weapons vessels.

Internationally, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the outfit to procure funds and weapons. Another factor is that LTTE elements in the State have derived encouragement from the words and actions of pro-LTTE politicians including Vaiko and Neduraman.

In the words of the Times writer, the LTTE “seems to be falling back for supplies on its oldest haven - the porous coastline of Tamil Nadu and its vast hinterland”.

Although the Navies of both countries regularly patrol Indo-Lanka waters, they cannot be omnipresent and there are many instances when Tiger boats slip through this net to unload contraband on Lankan shores. Worse, there have been clear instances of LTTEers forcing fishing boats to transport deadly cargo, which puts the Navies in a spot.

This is why there are growing calls for a more coordinated joint patrolling mechanism by the two Navies to deter the smuggling of goods and human trafficking by Tiger cadres.

Respected Indian defence analyst Col R. Hariharan describes the Indian coastal zone as the “weakest link” in the naval defence of Sri Lanka. This situation can only be rectified by bolstering security throughout the coastal zones of both countries.

Tamil Nadu authorities are under no illusions about the ultimate results of the expansion of Tamil militancy in the State. It would have disastrous consequences for both India and Sri Lanka.

After all, the LTTE has already committed several heinous crimes on Indian soil. The time has come for Tamil Nadu to crack down strongly on Tiger elements operating in the State.
 

Quack doctors

It was just a few days ago that we commented on the country’s health system but yesterday’s revelations on quack doctors must be given the widest possible airing.

The figure is startling indeed: There are around 40,000 bogus or quack doctors around the island, according to the Health Ministry which is planning to nab and expose them. These so-called ‘doctors’ have no knowledge, experience or qualifications in the field of medicine.

It is quite possible that they have been duping unsuspecting patients for years, by pretending to be qualified doctors. Some of them are relatives of competent doctors while others are retired dispensers and paramedics.

The phenomenon is said to be more widespread in rural areas, where access to better medical facilities is rather difficult for the villagers due to cost and transport factors. This is where the bogus medical practitioners literally make a killing by exploiting the ignorance and poverty of innocent villagers.

The exploits of quack doctors can be described as hilarious, if not for the grave danger they pose to patients.

For example, there have been many instances of quack doctors prescribing aspirin for dengue, which ultimately leads to haemorrhage. That is just one instance of how they endanger the precious lives of patients by prescribing medicines for diseases they cannot diagnose.

What often goes unreported is the massive cost borne by the State health system to treat those who fall prey to these quacks. Government hospitals are called upon not only to address the original disease but also the complications arising from medical misadventures of bogus doctors.

It goes without saying that the expansion of medical facilities with properly qualified doctors to the villages is one way of addressing this problem, which is unlikely to fade away soon. That will prevent people from seeking the help of these dubious individuals.

Now that the Health Ministry is about to raid these ‘medical’ centres, it should continue to keep an eye on this phenomenon. Perhaps a media campaign on properly identifying genuine doctors and medical centres will help the public in this regard. Doctors must also be directed to display their full qualifications, as we have seen numerous boards that just proclaim Dr.X or Dr.Y.

The Ministry has taken a step in the right direction with this decision which will be applauded by all right thinking citizens. Health is wealth and all obstacles impeding this objective must be removed.