It is time the medical authorities in India sat up and changed their ways. Hard on the heels of the severe indictment of the Medical Council of India by the Delhi High Court for its complicity in allowing bogus medical colleges to thrive, the West Bengal Medical Council found itself in the dock. Allegations are rife about the council protecting errant doctors and disregarding the complaints of their victims. Some city doctors admit that a "medical mafia" has taken control of the council that issues licences to doctors and is the arbiter on medical malpractices.

BITTER PILL: Saha (left) and Bose got no succour from the council

It was this mafia that US-based aids researcher Kunal Saha has taken on. His wife Anuradha, 36, contracted a rare skin ailment in Kolkata in May 1998 and the three physicians who attended on her gave her an unbelievably high dose of depomedrol that eventually killed her. After waiting for a year for the council to act, Saha approached the Calcutta High Court. While the court allowed him to depose through video conferencing, the council did its best to procrastinate, in one instance complaining about "typos in the 15-page complaint". Three years after filing a complaint, the council is still investigating the case.

For Amal Bose, it is not just justice delayed, but denied. Even after the courts convicted the doctor for forgetting to give anti-tetanus shots to his brother-in-law who died of a tetanus attack following cuts on his forehead, the council let off the doctor with just a warning. Saha and Bose are not giving up. They recently launched a forum, People for Better Treatment. It received 500 complaints of malpractice in two days. Let us hope they find the cure soon.

-Labonita Ghosh

POLL HYSTERIA: Surjeet led the Opposition withdrawal

General Pervez Musharraf's address may or may not have convinced his countrymen but it certainly cast a spell on opposition parties across the border. He wrecked the unity of the Indian polity. Leaders, who had agreed on December 30 to an all-party delegation tour to various countries to build opinion against Pakistan, changed their minds. "When things have cooled down, what is the point of heightening tension?" asks CPI (M) General Secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet, withdrawing his party from the delegation. The Samajwadi Party followed suit. The Congress scaled down its participation, refusing to spare even Shivraj Patil. Actress Shabana Azmi also excused herself. Everyone felt the Government was mobilising global opinion to heighten the war hysteria with an eye on the Uttar Pradesh polls. Except Najma Heptullah, who is heading a team to Saudi Arabia and Mani Shankar Aiyar, headed for Brussels. "Now we can talk (Kashmir) in a more constructive atmosphere," says Aiyar while Heptullah sees an opportunity to remove Islamophobia.

-Lakshmi Iyer

Cleaning Fest

The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has notched up another brownie point. After successfully implementing bans on thin plastic carrybags and high-decibel fire crackers, it managed to clean up the popular Bhogi festival on Pongal eve.

Bhogi is celebrated by burning old and worn out articles to make way for new. Unfortunately, Chennai has to bear the brunt. The city is usually enveloped by a thick smog on Pongal, delaying flights and disrupting early morning traffic.

This time, the TNPCB put its foot down: no burning of plastic or tyres. The police implemented the order strictly, charging 48 people with violation. The result was an eco-friendly Pongal. The sulphur dioxide content in the air was down by 62 per cent compared to the previous year's Bhogi and suspended particulate matter were scarcer by 21 per cent.

-Arun Ram