Crisis manager
This refers to the letter ‘Potential PM’ by Major(Retd) Mathew Oommen (Herald,  May10, 2012). Although the letter must be appreciated certain hypocrisies must be noted. Despite being the frontrunner for Presidentship in 2007, Pranab Mukherjee was not excused from the Congress party because of his ‘indespensability’ as a responsible Cabinet Minister and crisis manager! But the irony lies in the fact that far from promoting this very ‘indispensable’ man to the post of the Prime Minister; Mukherjee has neither been designated as ‘Deputy Prime Minister’ nor has he  been officially handed the Prime Ministerial duties when Dr.Manmohan Singh is ill or  undertakes trips abroad. Dr.Singh’s jobs instead are then distributed between Mukherjee, P.Chidambaram and A.K.Antony! This implies that Mukherjee's intellect, experience and man-management skills are to be exploited to the full, but never will he be officially honoured with the status of even the second-most important person in the Government or Union Cabinet! In this pathetic scenario, it is too much to expect that Mukherjee is a sure candidate for Prime Minister's post in future.
Kajal Chatterjee, Kolkata

Long suffering queen
Calangute Beach has always been called the ‘Queen of Goan Beaches’. But a visit to the beach is a shocker. Is it possible that she is suffering from incontinence – loss of bladder control due to age and neglect, or are other culprits responsible?
I am only trying to find a reason for the unbearable stink of urine all along the filthy entry via the filthier concrete steps to the what is now maybe the filthiest of sea shores along the coastline of our much trumpeted State. A scapegoat has been provided in the form of a huge black ram but it is obvious that there are more two legged culprits than four legged ones.
Our so called eco-tourists are fooled into thinking that the promenade leading to the sea shore is one big open -to -the -sky  ‘shubh swagatham souchalaya’ and happily relieve themselves adding to the stink- burden poor  Queen Calangute has to bear.
If our Tourism Minister, Health Minister local MLA and Sarpanch do not put their heads together to change the situation soon the name of the beach will definitely change from Calangute to Kantallo
Joseph D’Mello, Sangolda

Election code
It is good that Parrikar has retracted his decision to induct Alina Saldanha in the Cabinet of Ministers. Of course, the Constitution guarantees his right to induct her into the cabinet, but it doesn't guarantee him re-election. So he shouldn't unnecessarily go against public opinion.
I think it was all right for him to defend his action, but he shouldn't have said that the Election Code is not a legal document. This gives the youth a wrong message. Anyway it requires courage to correct an error and for this he needs to be congratulated for this act.
John Razana, USA

Churchill factor!
Can anyone imagine an election for an MLA or an MP, without Churchill Alemao? When the unpredictable former Power Minister boasts that people of Cortalim constituency including the Sarpanches want him to contest for the bye-election, he speaks the truth. In fact any here in Goa when an election is held, people of those constituencies will want him to be one of the candidates, immaterial on which party he contests. The reasons are obvious and well known. With his immense money power, unmatched generosity and inimitable style of speaking make him the most wanted politician in the fray. This does not mean that people want him necessarily to win the election but just enjoy the goodies that he freely splurges around. Indeed many may not even cast their vote for him.  The only people who are at odds with him are the Goan Congressmen. They seem to find it difficult to cope with his temperament, outbursts and constant threats of leaving the party and forever blaming them for all his ills. At the moment for Churchill, it is like being in a pool of chilled water and needs urgently come out into the warmth of four walls of the Vidhan Sabba, to feel comfortable.  Churchill like the Congress party needs to win the election at any cost, however Cortalim seems to be a distant dream.
Antonio Diniz via email

Valid reasons
Recently letters have been published concerning the fact that some women who drive two wheelers cover their faces with duppattas or scarves. There may be several reasons such as allergy to smoke and dust or to be safe from sunburn. Although the point is valid that if such drivers cause a mishap their faces cannot be recognized, does this not hold good for men/women who drive with helmets? People do drive wearing helmets either for legal or personal reasons. In case of any incident the only and best way is to note and report the vehicle number. Even if the owner has not been driving, but the actual driver of the two wheeler can be identified and taken to task.
Sridhar D. Iyer, Taleigao