1) Revive government-owned IDPL on big scale
Central and state governments are bulk buyers of medicines to be used in their hospitals and dispensaries. Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL) was a government-owned premium drug-manufacturing company in yesteryears which was known for providing quality medicines at the cost much below the famous branded medicines. For example, Calmod was its own brand-name for sleeping pill with salt diazepam (5 mgs) as a cheaper substitute sold at a fractional cost of popular branded medicines sold under trade name Calmpose and Valium-5.
With generic medicines being sold at exorbitant profit-margins up to with Maximum Retail Price (MRP) printed at even 400 per cent of than that available at wholesale drug market in Bhagirath Palace (Delhi), there is likelihood of a big bribe margin in their supply to government hospitals; central government should revive IDPL on a much larger scale than before. Rather Ayurvedic, Unani and Homeopathic medicines should also be produced by IDPL for providing users reliable and cheaper products where now days, marketers of honey are advertising extensively for blaming their competitors in selling adulterated and over-priced honey.
– Madhu Agrawal
2) Accept post-free RTI-applications
Central and some state-governments have started accepting online RTI applications. But most of the population especially less educated ones and that too from rural areas are not internet users. For benefit of that majority-section of public, post-free RTI applications addressed to central public-authorities should be accepted in all about 1,60,000 post-offices in the country rather than presently in just 4,500 post-offices.
Even the smallest post-office daily sends post-bags to head post-office with registered postal articles, cash and other revenue-items like unsold postage-stamps and postal-orders. This post-bag can carry post-free RTI applications addressed to central public-authorities.
– Subhash Chandra Agrawal
3) Smart CM, Smarter wife!
Devendra Fadnavis is a hardworking CM but his wife Amruta Fadnavis is one step ahead as the plastic ban which saves and protects environment seems to be her brainchild as she recommended it to the authorities. Beauty and brains often can get you solutions to deadly problems without opposition. Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam praised Amruta Fadnavis’s idea and this coming from a Shiv Senik at a time when BJP and Shiv Sena are at loggerheads deserves special mention and applause!
It is nice to learn that politicians’ better halves are taking special interest into the welfare and betterment of the city which is truly beautiful. Amruta Fadnavis should be made the brand Ambassador for plastic ban and wishing her well to come out with many more such public interest schemes which not just helps the environment but beneficial to all!
– S.N.Kabra
4) Better council should prevail
Breasts are perceived in a sexual manner, even when a mother feeds her child. Here it is not just men, but even women who stare if a mother feeds her baby in public, So many times, new mothers are helpless when their children cry of hunger, simply because they are unable to feed in public. This has to change.
Breastfeeding is a matter of pride, and women have to be able to feed their children freely and openly. You don’t need feeding rooms to feed your children. So we figured that having a discussion around this would be the most relevant thing to do this Women’s Day. When women are asked to go to the feeding room and feed, it is almost like the society is collectively teaching us to hide this very natural thing. This has to change. But to avoid all the controversies, it is better to have a separate breastfeeding lounge in public places, just like the smoking lounges. Better council should prevail in this matter and it should not be treated as an obscene one. Even a postal stamp was released in 1984 by the Indian government to stress that breastfeeding is the best. Why then this controversy!
– Anandambal Subbut
5) Take a note, BMC!
The BMC must first evacuate the hawkers from the streets and then start widening the roads. They cannot take away land and houses that belong to East Indians by force who are the original people of Mumbai. Grabbing land of East Indians is entirely wrong.
– Jubel D’Cruz
