Fire at KTC
bus stand
Goa is said to be an international
tourist destination and
the Kadamba Bus Stand in
Panjim is the gateway to commuters
to the tourist state of
Goa.
The major fire at the KTC
Bus Stand on October 2 has
highlighted the lack of safety
precautions and ill-preparedness
in preventing and controlling
tragedies especially
in public places where people
converge.
The people of Panjim have
recently re-elected Manohar
Parrikar as their MLA after
being in power as MLA and
CM for 22 years and he promised
to clean up the Panjim
mess in 365 days. After more
than a month of coming to
power we do not see any
changes in Panjim.
The bus stand continues to
be in the same dilapidated
state and this tragedy has
thrown the spotlight on the
dismal state of affairs in the
capital city of Goa.
Matias Lobo, Oman
Dastardly
killings
The United States has been
witness to at least ten major
killing-sprees over the last
two decades and the Las
Vegas mass shooting is certainly
the deadliest. Schools,
night clubs, processions and
concerts are the favourite
hunting grounds for killers –
terrorists or lone wolf attackers.
Despite killer Stephen
Paddock’s friends, relatives
and neighbours giving him a
“clean chit”, and the police
saying he has had no criminal
past, the recovery of arms
haul has deepened the secrets
about the enigmatic
killer. The police have declared
him to be a “solo killer”
with no affiliations to any domestic
or international terror
outfit though the Islamic
State (IS) has been quick to
“own responsibility” for the
attack. What makes the incident
very mysterious is the
lack of clarity on the motive
behind the mass killings.
Paddock may been used as
a proxy or may have had psychological
issues. The investigators
are bound to get to the
root of the killings soon but
what we know is the lax gun
laws in the US especially the
area around the state of Nevada
under which Las Vegas
falls. There are no restrictions
on procurement of guns, and
licences are warranted only
under special circumstances.
“Non–registration” rule for gun
owners is dangerous though
their previous record is perused
during gun purchase.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
Stray cattle, dogs
not welcome in Goa
One of the leading dailies of
the country recently carried
an article – Cow: From Mata
to Menace – which highlighted
that for all the lip
service that the saffron
brigade pays to the sacred
cow, the actual situation on
taking care of the bovine animal
leaves a lot to be desired.
We see this situation in Goa
too where stray cattle are
seen on our roads. This is a
menace to those walking on
the roads as also to traffic
particularly at night times.
With all our roads not properly
lit, these stray cattle loitering
on the roads will be the
cause for accidents which will
not only hurt these animals
but also become the cause of
human fatalities. These animals
have to be taken off our
roads on a priority basis since
the authorities cannot talk on
one side of wanting to reduce
road accidents and on the
other hand leave these stray
cattle as impediments to traffic
flow.
It is not only stray cattle
but also dogs that need to be
taken off our roads and
neighbourhoods since they
are again a menace to traffic
and also a danger to people
by way of dog bites and possible
rabies transmission. The
other day the papers carried
a report that the first charter
flight that landed at Dabolim
bringing Russian tourists was
greeted by dogs when they
came out of the airport.
But for the fact that it is
amusing to see that in Goa
even dogs like tourists, we
need to get serious about taking
off the stray canine population
from our neighborhoods.
Continuing on a tone of levity,
one would not be far wrong
to assume that the dogs exceed
in number the human
population in Goa.
Srinivas Kamat, Alto St. Cruz
Is the expense
justified?
KTC is bound for Europe, to
study transportation. Is the
expense justified, given the
Corporation’s, dire financial
condition?
We have KSRTC next door,
with similar conditions on
ground, and yet turning out
profits year on year. Makes
more sense to study and emulate
their systems, get the
corporation on a firm foundation,
before we bench mark
for world class.
Paul Pereira, Velim
Bullying main
reason for suicides
Most teenagers commit suicide
due to a variety of factors.
Bullying is a prime
reason why teenagers begin
to think of committing suicide.
It can occur in the classroom
or anywhere on the
school premises. The bullies
might resort to verbal bullying.
Sometimes it gets physical
too. When nobody steps
in, it triggers thoughts of suicide
to the victim.
Parental divorce is another
reason why problems begin
to occur. When a beloved parent
permanently leaves the
household, it generates feelings
of abandonment. It also
destabilises the family household
and removes one of their
sanctuaries. Without any
emotional outlet, they start to
believe that the only option
for them is suicide.
Teenage suicide is a permanent
solution to a temporary
problem. Teenagers experiencing
such thoughts believe
that there is no
future for them. A lack of
long-term future and no
way of being able to imagine
a positive future leads
to apathy. Apathy eventually
moves to depression,
which leads to suicidal
thoughts.
Jubel D’Cruz, Mumbai
Hefner remember
him for…..
The owner of Playboy Hugh
Hefner died at the age of 91.
Trillions of his readers-fans
will miss him across the
world. Playboy – famous for
the centerfolds – semi nudes
of well proportionate body –
female form.
The positivity of such
material once was explained
by an ex-lady editor
Liz of men’s magazine
Penthouse – the readers of
her magazine after reading
and seeing it, never indulged
in any sexual
activity but had best of
sleep at night! Hugh
Hefner must be remembered
for his contribution
to the society for restricting
undesired sexual activities
across the world.
Playboy and such socalled
men’s magazines
are objected by moral
policing people in India as
allegedly it contains erotic
material – pictures and
write ups – it is another
matter that worse than
such material one can find
on internet. Those who are
addicted to seeing seminudes
are not deprived off
as free supplements of few
dailies – newspapers in
India also carries seminude’s
pictures etc. on
daily basis.
Mahesh Kumar, New Delhi
Tattered
certificate
It is very painful to read
the letter of one Stephen
Dias published in citizen
column of Herald daily
dated Oct 2, 2017 that the
government is in responsible
to keep the records of
births and deaths in toto.
The government is
spending crores of rupees
for other non-essential
things but failed to computerise
the very essential
records of births and
deaths. The Chief Ministers
in the past and the
present Chief Minister
boasted several times to
get the records computerised.
The citizens are
made to run here and
there, spend several thousands
to rupees to compile
the tattered certificates.
The Registrars and Sub
Registrars refuse to accept
the Church records for
compiling the tattered certificates
and make the
people to run here and
there.
I hope that the Chief Minister
who boasted in the past
to get the said records computerised,
will wake up now
and order to do it.
Marcos Alemao, Varca
