Patients treated on floor due to bed shortage
Goa has reportedly been ranked as the top-performing state in healthcare among the North-East, Hilly Regions, and smaller states of India, according to the Care Edge State Ranking Report 2025. The state achieved this recognition through strong performances in various sectors, including financial, infrastructure, economic, and social development. Goa’s healthcare infrastructure surpasses that of many other states. The system functions effectively from primary to tertiary levels. However, primary healthcare centers require assessment. Goa Medical College is central to the healthcare infrastructure that serves Goa and even the nearby states. It must be said that one of the primary needs of any hospital is the availability of beds for the patients. For any patient getting a hospital bed is the first step towards getting admission in the hospital and subsequent treatment. It must be said that beds are readily available in private hospitals. However, it is not the case in government hospitals. Here patients are being accommodated on stretchers and wheelchairs and even on the floor for lack of sufficient beds. It is learnt that there is an acute bed shortage plaguing the South Goa District Hospital. Doctors and citizens have reportedly suggested that the hospital’s top two floors be opened to accommodate more beds and patients. It does not seem proper for the government to push for a medical college or a nursing college on the top two floors of the district hospital when there is scarcity of beds for the patients.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
AC temperature controls
The government’s proposal to make it mandatory for air conditioners across India to operate between 20°C and 28°C has sparked off a debate in India. The rationale behind these restrictions is to reduce power consumption. In an overpopulated country with very high power consumption, the government’s move is justified. At the same time, it must be taken into account that in a tropical country like India with sizzling summer days, people have personal preference for AC usage. While the government’s move has long term advantages, the way of implementation raises questions about people’s right to their comfort. In fact, by restricting the operating temperature of ACs, the government will be able to power millions of homes by using the saved electricity. True, heat waves during summer season make life uncomfortable in several states. On the other hand, the overall benefits of the step need to be reckoned with. While the public outcry over the proposal is understandable, the ultimate aim of the move must not be overlooked. The government needs to balance individual comfort and collective survival. The government must take steps to transform imposition of the restrictions to collective action.
Venu G. S., Kollam
AP’s baby incentive
As per the United Nations Population Funds, India’s estimated population in 2025 is 1.46 billion (146 crores) people. Further India’s total fertility rate has reduced to 1.9 births per woman, way below the replacement level of 2.1. In a recent interview Chandrababu Naidu, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (AP) said that he is looking to provide financial incentives to larger families, and bigger the families, higher the incentives. His concern is with the falling fertility in AP and losing seats due to delimitation as it happened in 2004 when Telangana was created. In the past Andhra Pradesh had amended the law to ban people with more than two children from contesting panchayat and municipal elections! This policy has been reversed. Large families are good but the days of joint families are over when our forefathers had half-a-dozen or more kids. It was for economic purposes, more hands to help in the fields or to carry on the families’ occupation. Later, India had a successful “we two, ours two,” programme which created a nuclear family and subsequently “atomic family” with most couples preferring one kid or no kid and each working in different States and/or countries. The reasons are: rising cost of subsistence and education, healthcare, lack of employment opportunities, absence of family support etc. Women are not child-producing machines to stop the falling population, nor should cater to political compulsions. Under these circumstances, no State should encourage large families by showing the carrot of incentives which may be a one-time affair but rearing the kids is a life-long one. Further, there is no guarantee that government-of-the-day or the next would continue the incentives and thus, leave the families in a lurch. Big families may be useful, but small is useful!
Sridhar D Iyer, Caranzalem
