Facebook war

War of words through Facebook among political leaders of Kerala has culminated to the maximum with the latest entry of Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan into it. While he is putting posts and making continuous changes in them, other leaders like V M Sudheeran, Oommen Chandy, Pinarayi and Kummanam are also busy with it. Almost all of them receive lakhs of likes along with no less abuse remarks. The other visual and print media forgetting their importance, now abundantly keep vigil on Facebook.
And one's reasonable doubt is that how many of the voters are connected to FB? It is only one in 100 or 200 possessing a smart phone or a laptop. The FB has become a source of daily abuse for many leaders inwhich the ordinary voter is least intetested. In that case the stances of KC leader KM Mani and BDJS leader Vellappally are more acceptable as they are not making any hullabaloo over Facebook .

K A Solaman

Bribe–based liquor policy

The Kerala Government decision to allow six more bars in the state is contentious. It looks like all the petty shops will become five star hotels soon and Kerala will have the largest number of 5 star hotels. Clearly the Chandy Government has made a loop hole for the bar owners to keep their business going. The election expense and some easy money might have prompted UDF to take this quick decision.

Then one wonders how does the Election Commission, which even restricts drinking water supply, permit the Government to take such a decision that involves huge money turn out? Is it not a violation of Election Code of Conduct? The Opposition accusation of bribe-based liquor policy of UDF cannot be ruled out.

K A Solaman

Too cruel!

The Central government cutting down one crore plus work days for Kerala under NREGS is too cruel.
The number of work days in rural job guarantee scheme has been slashed to 6.01 crore from last year's availed 7.42 crore.
In fact NREGS is one intended to feed underprivileged people without any specific job. These people are often aged and many of them are ailing. There is none to look after them. The rural work guarantee scheme provided a chance to earn their livelihood without begging. The present cut is a cruelty on the part of central government to make these people jobless.

When liquor barons Vijay Mallya are allowed to loot thousands of crores it is unbecoming on the part of the government to take back 300 or 400 crores spent for feeding the poor by way of NREGS.

K A Solaman

Grave offence

Permission given to pyrotechnics display killing 109 people and severely burning many at the Puttingal temple, Paravur, Kollam is a grave offence and hence the persons responsible for the disaster should be arrested and jailed. Then only in future this would become a lesson to those who are still thinking of such dastardly act. The decision of Thrissur district administration to sanction four tons of fireworks to Thrissur Pooram festival is also not agreeable. Do they think that four tons of explosives is inadequate to kill a hundred plus people?
It seems that the Puttingal tragedy has not taught any lesson to the lovers of fire works.

K A Solaman

Puttingal tragedy report

The move made by the Home Minister to seek a report from DGP regarding the Kollam Puttingal temple fire accident, over ruling Home secretary Nalini Netto's report, is not in the right direction. The report submitted by Home Secretary had recommended action against senior police officers for dereliction of duty. And by seeking another report from police the minister is ignoring just officers

It is said that undue collusion of certain Congress leaders with Kollam police to defy the orders of the the Collector is the reason for the tragedy. Instead of punishing the guilty, the attempt on the part of minister to target the just officers is too cruel and that must boomerang in the next election.

If this is the attitude of the government towards the tragedy then the dead ones will soon become culprits and the just officers including Home Secretary and Collector have to reach judicial forums to safeguard themselves.

K A Solaman

Home Secy Report Ignored

Controlled fireworks.?

All-party meeting recommendation for controlled use of fireworks at the Thrissur Pooram scheduled on April 18 is a farce as an immediate control is not at all possible. Pooram preparation often starts immediately after the halt of previous Pooram. The dynamites and other high decibel fireworks are prepared and kept safe months back and hence an immediate reduction in noise level of fireworks is not possible. In that case how can the Pooram organisers reduce the sound of crackers?

Do they mean that they attach immediately silencers to all the dynamites made for Pooram show?

K A Solaman

Kill pill

A recent directive from the Union health ministry has sought a ban over 300 cocktails of two or more drugs, which, medical experts allege, have no therapeutic value (“Drug-cocktail ban opens can of worms”, March 15). These drugs are called fixed-dose combinations and include popular cough syrups such as Corex, Phensedyl and so on. Health experts are of the opinion that “irrational drug cocktails” such as these provide no medical help to the patients. But, in some cases, they can lead to drug resistance and inhibit the building up of immunity to infections.

The Union health ministry should be congratulated on this bold decision. While it is true that the drug industry might face an estimated loss of more than Rs 2,000 crore, such a predicament is unavoidable. Drug manufacturers, in connivance with unscrupulous medical practitioners, make huge profits through the sale of such harmful medicines. The pharmaceutical companies should make medicines to save people instead of causing them harm.

K.A. Solaman, Alappuzha, Kerala

The Telegraph, Calcutta, Mar 24, 2016

Running away

 

The Bangalore bench of the debt recovery tribunal temporarily restrained the British multinational alcoholic beverages company, Diageo Plc, from paying $75 million to Vijay Mallya ("Mallya suffers a setback", March 8). It has now been reported that Diageo has already paid a part of this sum. Mallya, who owes huge debts to various Indian banks, should have been barred from leaving the country. What is unclear is why the banks failed to take the necessary steps at the appropriate time to ensure that he was held accountable for his actions. If proper disciplinary steps had been taken against Mallya, he would have been arrested before he left India. This would have served as a warning to individuals who, like Mallya, have taken huge loans from banks and are intentionally failing to repay them.

K.A. Solaman, Alappuzha, Kerala

The Telegraph, Calcutta March 22, 2016

Paravur temple fire

The Kollam  temple fire disaster is one of the worst man made disasters in Kerala.  It  has been reported that about 106 persons were killed and over 350 injured in the  fire that broke out at the Paravur Puttingal Devi temple near Kollam. The people responsible for the tragedy are  Devaswom authority and the local government administration.

Pyrotechnics in temples and churches are banned by several court orders  but are blatantly violated. Compensation by central and state governments are  good gestures nevertheless  it is  not a remedy for replication of the disaster. So manufacture of fire woks should be immediately restricted and no permit should be given for pyrotechnics  on religious or other traditions.

-K A Solaman

Letter written or not?

With the Assembly Election in  the offing ,  Kerala News Channels have nothing to deliberate seriously on issues related to common man. That is why they concentrate on silly matters like T N Prathapan's letter to Congress High Command and his candidature. Prathapan is,    of course, a better politician compared to his contemporaries and the letter row will not hamper his image  as a good leader.  The  youth congress leader Dean Kuriakose coming against Prathapan based on rumour is a matter of grave indiscipline.
-K A Solaman

Gouri Amma humiliated?

It may be true that the JSS leader and veteran woman campaigner, who had spent major part of her life time for the growth of Communist party in Kerala, has been humiliated by Marxist party by denying seats to her party in the next Assembly poll. However, it is a fact that except she there is none in her party competent enough to make an equitable fight with opponents in the rival group. Gouri Amma's dotage is the prime reason for the pathetic cast of her party in the present scenario.

K A Solaman