Dedicated doctors
This refers to the news report ‘Dialysis Doctor Takes On Health Minister At CHC’ (Herald June 26, 2012). It reveals the Health Minister’s lack of compassion and empathy with doctors working in rural areas. If doctors have to get involved in administration work and lobbying for necessary infrastructure with seasoned and insensitive bureaucrats and politicians, how much physical energy and mental peace will they have left to treat patients? Why was the Health Minister agitated when Dr. Venkatesh from the Dialysis Unit at Canacona voiced his grievance in the presence of the public? Are the public not equal stakeholders in ‘parivartan’ governance that they should be aware that all is not shinning? Why should doctors from Government Health Centres approach the Health Minister when there is an executive machinery of the Government in place?
Goa definitely needs more of such doctors and health staff who like Dr. Venkatesh will fearlessly call a spade a spade particularly when Ministers and MLAs conduct such hypocritical visits to gain political mileage. Soter D’souza, Socorro
Protect Goa
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has done justice to the women of Goa by inducting Alina Saldanha in his cabinet. Mahatma Gandhi, said, “Man should learn to give place to women. A country or a community in which women are not honoured cannot be considered civilized.”
The BJP Government allotted Alina Saldanha the right portfolio as the Minister for Environment& and Forests which the late Minister and her husband Matanhy Saldanha held. Women in Goa have excelled in every field and Alina Saldanha will definitely do justice to the portfolio she is given charge of, in serving the people of Goa and helping protect and respect the beautiful environment of the place we all live in-our Forest wealth and wildlife sanctuaries and to put an end to illegal mining covered under forest areas. It is the duty of our Government to respect and protect our environment and forests from destruction or becoming a concrete jungle. The natural beauty of Golden Goa, is God’s gift to Goa and Goans. Melson F. M. Louis, Margao
Parrikar for PM
The NDA seems to be in a fix about whom to project as their prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections as frontrunners Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar cannot see eye to eye. This threatens their respective parties about coming together for a coalition government.
Due his simple nature, clean image, high educational background, ability to govern and deliver has made Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar Goa’s idol - Goans feel the changes that he made in his short spell in power. His pro-people policies and secular credentials make him an ideal candidate as India’s PM for 2014 general elections without any hesitation. Unlike Narendra Modi who is branded as an autocratic, arrogant, and self centered - his personal involvement with the Godhra riots and Babri Masjid demolition too does not make him an ideal choice for a PM. Parrikar needs to portray himself as an alternative to Modi and involve himself more with the Central politics to gain wider acceptance. It is high time Goa delivers a son who can lead the country through today’s troubled times involving corruption and scams at the highest level. Allwyn George, Carmona
Ego conflict?
This refers to the letter “Tennis patriotism” (Herald, June 25, 2012). The person reading the letter might get the impression that Leander Paes is a victim. Sportspersons who keep abreast of latest news, know very well that the Paes-Bhupathi conflict has been going on for several years. Paes, too, has a strong ego. He is known to have his way when it comes to making a choice of players. There was a virtual revolt against him in the 2008 Davis Cup. Bopanna felt slighted when left out of the last Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan. It appears that the split between Bhupathi and Paes widened when the two had a fist-fight over who would dance with a Bollywood damsel at a party. Let’s hope that these two great players who put India on the World Tennis Map, winning the Wimbledon and French Open, will team up at the London Olympics. A.John Fernandes, Margao
Delegating duties
It has been observed that in Goa during TV interviews, whenever a Minister/MLA is encountered with problems pertaining to the Ministry/Constituency he/she represents, the oft repeated answer which many of them give is that the Chief Minister is aware of the problem and that the matter will be looked into. The elected representatives need to stop passing the buck onto the Chief Minister, and take the initiative on their own to solve the problem. After all the Chief Minister is only human and cannot attend to the problems of the entire state by himself. That is precisely why the Ministers and Chairmen of the various Corporations are handed the responsibilities. It is high time the Ministers, and MLAs who head the various Corporations learn to stand on their own feet and are not totally dependent on the Chief Minister. Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Aadhaar Card
My two school going sons and I were given an appointment on June 26, in the afternoon session for enrolment after verifying all the relevant documents. As the office functions from 2.00 p.m. in the afternoon, we completed the procedure between 2.10 p.m to 2.21 p.m. The trouble in the entire exercise began when the enrolment operator insisted that I produce two photo copies of my enrolment receipt (which was issued by her at that very moment ) in order to enclose the same to my sons applications failing which she refused to hand over my sons enrolment receipts to me. After making two trips to the nearby xerox shops on that rainy afternoon , I learnt that these shops open only after 3.00 pm. My repeated pleas to the staff and especially to the enrolment operator to issue me two printouts of my enrolment receipt bore no fruit. I kindly request the authorities concerned to enlighten the public whether it is their duty to submit photocopies of the enrolment receipts when the same can be done by the office /agency (MARS Telecom Systems Pvt Ltd in this case) entrusted for the same simply by taking more printouts. The staff at the verification counter saw reason but were helpless. Janice Gomes, Margao
