Punjab's Twin Crises Demand Urgent Action
The recent article 'High power demand, generation losses add to woes of power corp' highlights a serious challenge confronting Punjab. Delayed monsoon has compelled farmers to depend on tube wells for irrigating paddy fields, resulting in a surge in electricity demand. More alarming is the impact on declining groundwater reserves. With nearly 14 lakh tube wells extracting billions of litres of groundwater every week, the state's water table continues to fall at an unsustainable rate. According to Sanjay Chopra of Mohali, Punjab's energy and water crises are closely linked, and measures such as crop diversification and reducing water-intensive paddy cultivation must be adopted to tackle the situation.
Pharma Ban a Welcome Step for Public Health
In another letter, BS Kakkar of Jalandhar applauds the recent ban on 16 fixed-dose combination (FDC) drugs, calling it a commendable step towards streamlining India's pharmaceutical ecosystem. He notes that while developed nations maintain a scientifically validated list of FDCs, India has seen a dangerous proliferation of multi-ingredient formulations driven primarily by market incentives rather than clinical necessity. To safeguard public health, regulatory bodies must rigidly enforce this ban and transition the healthcare system towards evidence-based prescribing norms.
Right to Walk: A Public Health Necessity
Vitull K Gupta of Bathinda comments on the 'Right to walk' column, stating that the Supreme Court's recognition of pedestrians' right to walk safely is highly welcome. However, several such judicial interventions have faced implementation issues. Illegal parking and government-installed utilities often swallow much of the space on footpaths. Gupta proposes that if footpaths remain encroached, local independent monitoring panels must be set up to expose the deficiencies. He emphasizes that the 'right to walk' is a public health necessity, not a luxury.
Congress Must Tackle Indiscipline First
Col SS Chauhan (Retd) of Zirakpur addresses 'The Challenge for Congress in Punjab', arguing that the party's biggest weakness has been its persistent inability to curb indiscipline within its own ranks. Public disagreements, factionalism, and contradictory statements have undermined its credibility. While Rahul Gandhi's recent dressing-down of Punjab leaders and the lasting impact of the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' have provided some positive momentum, these alone cannot revive the party unless organisational discipline is enforced. The party must first put its own house in order to earn voters' trust.
Structural Reforms Needed for NEET
Capt Amar Jeet (Retd) of Kharar proposes a radical framework of structural reforms to dismantle the commercial paper-leak mafia and unregulated coaching centre nexus in competitive exams like NEET. Traditional measures such as signal jammers and physical frisking are obsolete against leaks originating at the source or during transit. He advocates an encrypted, online 'just-in-time' delivery system combined with a revolutionary multi-paper seating randomisation model, where the exam will not rely on a single question paper but on a set of 10 distinct question papers.
Land Administration Needs Urgent Reform
Harsh Pawaria of Rohtak comments on the 'Never-ending struggle to reclaim land', recalling the film Khosla Ka Ghosla where a family is trapped in a maze of encroachment, manipulation, and official indifference. Two decades later, the story remains relevant. For many families, a plot of land represents a lifetime of savings, yet unclear titles, prolonged litigation, and fraudulent transactions often make ownership precarious. Pawaria urges that India's land administration system urgently requires greater transparency, tamper-proof records, and faster dispute resolution mechanisms.
