For those uninitiated into the workings of the honorable Lok Sabha, the first hour of every sitting is supposed to be the 'Question Hour'. In this session Ministers of the Government must answer any question put forward to them by any member of the House.





There are two kinds of questions, mainly. Starred questions, indicated by an asterisk next to them, which requires the concerned Minister to make an oral statement to the House, during which he or she may be cross-examined with further questions.





The second type is unstarred questions, which are written questions submitted to Speaker and only require a written reply, with no further questions.





It is a helpful way for the ruling Government to figure out what is bothering the voters and MPs of this great nation.





On a slight but possibly related tangent here, 'Piku' is a recently released Bollywood film starring Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan. A large segment of the movie is devoted to Amitabh Bachchan's character's chronic constipation and the many possible cures to it. In fact, much philosophy in the film is extolled about the virtues of having a good digestive system and the horrors of constipation.





Apparently the questions raised by this movie have struck a chord with either the honorable MP from Cuddalore - A. Arunmozhithevan , or as perhaps someone in his constituency. Either way, an answer was sought by the good MP in Parliament to the following question -





Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:





(a) whether as per study, a number of people suffer from chronic constipation, particularly in the urban areas of the

country, and if so, the details thereof;





(b) whether there is lack of awareness about the disease and the patients begin late treatment, and if so, the details thereof;





and





(c) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to create awareness about constipation and its seriousness?





Admittedly until the question had been raised, it is difficult to imagine many people actually wondering this. But now that it has reared its head, aren't we all curious to know what the Minister of Health had to say?





Well, as it turns out the answer was given after all. Here it is -





(a) to (c): There has been no nation-wide study to determine the number of people suffering from chronic constipation, particularly in the urban areas of the country.





Health being a state subject, it is the prerogative of the State Government to provide comprehensive healthcare to its public. Patients with the above stated problem can avail treatment from relevant departments of the State run health facilities. The Central Government Hospitals augment the efforts of the State Governments.









To be fair to the Good MP A. Arunmozhithevan, this was only one of a whole batch of more serious questions he did raise during the session, including:

















Whatever the occasional strange question, it is good to see our MPs taking such a healthy interest in the myraid issues that might arise in our minds.