Healing powers

Dilip Cherian India's 'Image Guru' and a diehard observer of the capital turns fan of PM's surgeon Rama Kant Panda

Dilip Cherian India's 'Image Guru' and a diehard observer of the capital turns fan of PM's surgeon Rama Kant Panda

The stitches are cut, the Doctor's back at work! The Prime Minister's coronary bypass surgery at AIIMS may have been the best news for the medical institute in a long time. After all, in recent times the AIIMS only made news for reasons other than purely medical. But the fact is that it was Mumbai's noted cardiac surgeon Rama Kant Panda who performed the 12-hour operation. All of this underscored a vital change in the public health scenario.

Not so long ago, most netas routinely went abroad or entered a private facility for treatment. Back in 1990 even Manmohan Singh went to Britain to undergo bypass surgery. This time he may have chosen to use AIIMS but Dr Panda was called in for his pioneering role in bypass surgery. It helped that he is also a responsible citizenu00a0tax boys have awarded him for being one of the highest taxpayers in the country on two occasions! Obviously, this aspect of the noted surgeon will be lost on the netas who stay untaxed largely but are singing paeans to Panda!

Dry dock

For our water-starved metro dwellers nothing can be as uplifting than sighting a trickle of water in the tap. Fortunately, Mumbaikars can breathe a little easy with the Bhatsa Dam deal done, under which the city will get an additional 100 million litres of water daily.

But Delhi's water woes are likely to persist. Sheila Dikshit is focusing on the 2010 Commonwealth Games, but Dilliwalas may well be looking at a summer of discontent if the city's water woes are not addressed quickly. Much hope was raised after the go-ahead to the Rs 2,700 crore Renuka Dam project in Himachal Pradesh. Unfortunately, this project got embroiled in controversy over compensation. Besides, that water will reach Delhi only by 2014, a stretch of time too long for Dilliwallas to console themselves with. Until then, many fear, the capital's residents will have to rely on the stinky old Yamuna and fast depleting ground water levels. Unless Sheila acts really soon!