H1N1 influenza

India is facing an epidemic of sorts. A secondary explosion of H1N1 infection sweeping through the nation in people who haven’t traveled to any infected nations but may have caught it from infected travelers. Although health screening at airports are continuing but cases are increasing of infections and deaths due to H1NI.

Is it that the screening process is not good enough or is it that newer strains with different symptoms are developing threatening human life and travel? Even education is being held ransom by this spread of infection causing schools to close down.

WHO predicts 33% of all Indians will suffer from the H1N1 influenza by 2011. Fearful isn’t it but then so is living with terrorism, road rage, government apathy and high levels of corruption. Does this mean we all should lock ourselves up and stop shopping, driving, and living our daily lives? Shutting down schools and institutions is a knee jerk reaction bound to cause panic, instead the screening of passengers and other patients who complain of flu like symptoms should become more stringent and private hospitals and nursing homes become more accountable for their actions/inaction. Nursing homes and private hospitals are mushrooming like wild fungus. These nursing homes and expensive hospitals mere money making organization for their owners disregarding their social role in a developing country.

The government should have stringent measures in place to check these private medical care institutions. Proper rules and punishment a deterrent to their illegal functioning. The government should make the testing available to these private healthcare institutions so that we could diagnose these cases avoiding death. Only then can we hope to survive this new threat looming in the near horizon.

The role of government in aviation today

The private sector owned by businessmen whose sole intentions to run an airline was to make profits and not for any social causes or welfare development. October 15th 2008 Naresh Goyal announces that Jet Airways would lay off 1900 employees as they were running at a loss. Kingfisher boss liquor baron Vijay Mallya had laid off 300 employees and indicated that more would lose their jobs. The laid off employees demonstrated outside the airports holding placards and raising slogans. The press and media felt their cause worth highlighting and sympathized with them. The result, Government of India pressurized oil companies to bail these airlines out by deferring their dues owed to them.
On July 3rd three hundred Air India employees strike work carrying red flags as they are not paid their due salary. The government takes a tough stance and the news and media and everyone lambast the Air India employees of being overfed white elephants (AIR INDIA is a public sector undertaking whose sole aim is to provide social equality under the five year plan and to provide services to routes not economically feasible and to help evacuate Indians from places and nations in war zones. The evacuation of Indians from Kuwait in 1990 was a world record.)Air India asks for a bailout package from the government. Everyone is ready to sack all employees of Air India and shut the airlines down.
The Federation of Indian airlines (private airlines) decide to stop operations of domestic flights from August 18th due to acute economical crisis. Air India employees assured the government of full cooperation when the private airlines would stop operations.
The Government assured FIA they would look into the grievances and work something out so that the private airlines could function. Wondering about the role of government and private sector and the media