Gift seized sand mining canoes
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has ordered those unregistered canoes parked below Amona Bridge and at Oxel-Siolim to be seized as these are either parked in government properties and/or used for illegal sand mining activity. The Advocate-General for Goa has assured the court that such canoes would be impounded and destroyed. He further added that the confiscated suction pumps will be used by the government in departments such as sanitation, sewage treatment, etc. Instead of destroying the canoes the government could gift these to some poor, deserving traditional fishermen who stay in and around Amona.
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This goodwill gesture would be much appreciated by the recipients, for after all the elections are around the corner! The government could use the pumps and illegally mined sands for infrastructure purposes. In no case the court should allow the dumping of the sands back into the river as this would cause havoc in the ecology and biota.
Sridhar D’Iyer, Caranzalem
Foot and mouth disease in cattle
It is learnt that panic has spread among milk farmers across the State with suspected out-break of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in cattle in Sanguem area. Farmers are reportedly urging the State government to look into the matter and vaccinate the cattle on a priority basis. The FMD is leading to death of cattle and a rapid vaccination drive is necessary to curb the spread of the disease. Fatality is due to compromised immunity and the animals become susceptible to hemorrhagic septicemia and other diseases.
It may be recalled that recently there was an outbreak of the foot-and-mouth disease in Maharashtra with Pune and Ahmednagar districts being the epicentre of the disease. The authorities in Maharashtra have said that the outbreak is much more severe this year than last year mainly due to the delay of the second round of vaccination this year. FMD is a fatal viral disease affecting cattle and the central government coordinates special vaccination drives against the disease twice a year. It is understood that the central government provides the vaccine while the State government carries out the drives. The State government needs to take the fear of the milk farmers in Goa seriously.
Necessary steps need to be taken to prevent the spread of the disease with proper vaccination drives after samples are collected to carry out necessary tests.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Clever Task Force
Children need to attend physical classes for their wellbeing: not because the Task Force says so they have no experts on this front but because world experts say so. Their objective is to open Tourism fully. But you cannot take short cuts. You need to work for the same diligently and take informed decisions with due mitigation of all risks. Let the Task Force show us this. We know the WHO has not approved Covaxin to date: why? Short cuts. If the decision was in the hands of the Task Force: the vaccine would have been approved long back.
The Task Force is clever but sadly, not intelligent. Their decisions are taken based on statistics without any supporting evidence. There is no evidence of any serosurvey conducted yet they ‘estimate’ the antibodies presence in children based on neighbouring States’ surveys! All experts say that 70% of the population must be vaxed for herd immunity. The Task Force cleverly says with no evidence that 70% of children have antibodies. The level of antibodies is also not specified: less than 60 means you are not immune. This contradicts their statement that a small portion of the U-18 got infected.
This comes about as the head is an Oncologist and not an infectious disease expert. Decisions must be taken based on the virus characteristics. The Delta virus is airborne; that means it spreads more from breathing than droplets. Which means in enclosed conditions like schools/offices/multiplexes/cinema halls/restaurants/casinos, etc, ventilation is key to arrest the same. Yet, they are mum on this point: why?
R Fernandes, Margao
Preserve our natural beauty
God’s natural beauty is the talk of the world. But sadly tourists who come from various States of India are dirtying our beautiful beaches , historic sites, towns, cities with garbage strewn all over places they visit. They seldom give due respect to religious places like churches, and temples with beer and alcohol consumption at these sites. I think government should be more strict to this kind of nuisance of tourists and should put hefty fines.
Also government should bring about awareness among tourists coming from other States about this issue. Such kinds of tourists are dangerous to Goa’s image and as can be seen no foreign tourists will ever deter to come to Goa.
I request government and tourism department to act accordingly to curb such menace and protect and preserve our natural beauty.
Benny Pereira, Guirim
Can India afford exporting vaccines?
Fully vaccinated people are being infected by COVID-19 which clearly is an indication that anti-bodies built after getting the jab only last for a few months and every citizen will require a booster dose even after the mandatory two doses of the vaccine.
The government is silent on the booster dose due to shortage of vaccines as not even half of the population has been fully vaccinated as yet.
The COVID-19 virus is evolving every now and then which means we may need an altogether different booster dose to protect ourselves from the virus in future.
Vaccines should not be exported till we fulfill the requirements of our own country. Committing exports at this stage when our own requirements are uncertain seems to be a decision taken in haste. Vaccine doses at times of a life threatening pandemic become an essential commodity.
Exports of vaccines should be completely banned under the present circumstances like any other commodity at times of national need where citizens of the country deserve to be given a priority.
Jubel D’Cruz, Mumbai
Ribandar Health Centre
October 2, 2021 brought a mixed bag for Ribandar, the completion of the pending restoration of our Church hall and the inauguration of the long awaited Ribandar Health Centre.
The first was indeed a happy occasion, all the more because the work of restoration was well executed by the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC). We need to applaud the GSIDC for such a perfectionist work of our hall when many others executed by them have left much to be desired.
On the other hand, the so-called Health Centre now “inaugurated” is clearly an attempt to take people for a ride. The new facilities have not been set up in the main building of the historic Old Ribandar Hospital. Instead the authorities chose to inappropriately squeeze this Health centre amidst an already cramped Crime Branch premises.
As this government is going to face elections soon, we will have to now wait for the next regime to pursue this issue, which will definitely figure during the ensuing Assembly election campaign.
The 24X7 emergency centre that has been set up required the much needed facility of X-ray and ultra sound while adding a CT scan and MRI facility eventually.
Everyone is entitled to the same level and quality of medical care that Ministers and MLAs get.
We must ensure that the Old Ribandar Hospital returns as a centre of excellence.
Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar
