Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

A bitter truth

A bitter truth

The Chief Minister spoke a bitter truth when he said that not even 30 per cent of State Government employees were working properly and earnestly.

Having seen the functioning of Government offices in Thiruvananthapuram for over 25 years, I can say that the percentage quoted by the Chief Minister is rather low. I would put it at close to 75 per cent. A sizable number of the Government employees are union office-bearers who devote more time to union activities rather than their job and draw salary without fail.

It is a common sight to see employees, particularly women, trooping into their offices well after 10.30 a.m. and leaving around 4 p.m. Exceptions are there of course, but no head of the department has the will to ensure smooth functioning of his office.

Capt. (retd.) O. Mathai

Thiruvananthapuram

Curbing price rise

Cosmetic market interventions, including subsidies, are not enough to avert spiralling prices of essential commodities. Moreover, it does not increase production or reduce consumption, which will help stabilise the prices. Kerala is heavily dependent on other States of its essential commodities.

Hence subsidies only help traders of other State. The proper utilisation of our resources to increase agricultural production alone will stem the tide of exploitation and for that aggressive agricultural practices have to be adopted. The Government and other political parties should shed their petty differences in the larger interest of the people. Rich soil and perennial resources of water are available in the State. But the progressive and educated labour force has to be organised and assured of a good return for their work in the field or factories.

K.P. Karunakaran Nair

Thiruvananthapuram

Tackling a crisis

Much heat has been generated over the failure of procurement of paddy, especially in Kuttanad. There are claims, counter-claims and exhortations.

The authorities claim to be doing everything possible to avert the crisis. But the problem continues. We should realise that paddy procurement is only a sub-system of an entire system.

The system includes paddy cultivation, processing, generating income from sale of rice and so on. Optimisation of one sub-system will only prove to be counter-productive. In Kerala, only paddy procurement is discussed while other sub-systems are ignored.

The long-term objective is to generate income through sale of paddy. Failure to accomplish this objective causes loss to all the stakeholders, including farmers, workers, suppliers, customers and the State as a whole. The ideal solution to the entire problem will be to integrate various functions in the system.

C.K. Ramachandran

Kannur

Thiruvananthapuram

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