The number of cancer patients is alarmingly increasing in the country in the last five/six years.

The main reasons behind this are the unhealthy living style, the higher level of pollution and consumption of adulterated foods, among others. There is no proper quality control mechanism with the government which has made the consumers compelled to consume

contaminated bottled and piped water and adulterated foods, putting their lives at high risk of getting infected with deadly diseases such as cancer, high blood pressure, hepatitis, cardiac arrest, liver dysfunction, etc.

It has been reported that more than 300 cancer patients from all over the country normally visit Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital every year, of which, ten percent come from the Valley “Most cancer patients from Kathmandu Valley” (THT, June 14, Page 2) which may not be even the exact number of patients because there are also other cancer hospitals in the valley which might be seeing a considerable number of cancer patients.

It is said that this is a silent killer disease which normally becomes active only after it gets fully matured. If it can be detected at the initial stage, it can be cured say the oncologists.

Once, the patient is diagnosed with cancer, a series of time consuming and very expensive treatment is required to fight it. It will be definitely painful to bear for the people who cannot afford treatment.

In this case, the government should take the responsibility in one way or the other to bear the cost of the treatment like it has officially started bearing the dialysis expenses of the kidney patients.

Also, the government should be serious in strengthening its quality control mechanism to sternly put it in place, make it active and start punishing the traders involved in food adulteration.

It is high time that the government and its concerned agencies took necessary steps to improve air quality inside the Kathmandu Valley at the soonest possible.

Rai Biren Bangdel, Maharajgunj

Child labour

This is in response to your editorial “Stop Child labour” (THT, June 14, Page 8). In a Metropolitan city one would have noticed everywhere – people hovering around the crossings, shining shoes, washing automobiles, working in the fields or worse, working in inhumane conditions in the factories.

While the government proposes abolishing the problem of child labour according to the Act of 1986, it seems impossible as unfair means are being practiced to evade legislation of any kind by the employers.

Child labour has often been understood as cheap labour, which is a vital economic asset to developing industry.

But this never justifies the inhumane conditions, which these innocent ones face. Child labourers are totally sidelined by some organizations. Every child labourer has a dream of his own…a dream which keeps him going through the daily toils.

Children below 16 should not be allowed to work at any cost.

Vinod C. Dixit, Ahmedabad