Kudos to Gaude
Our Co-operation Minister Govind Gaude must be commended for having very rightly decided to amend the Goa Co-operative Societies Act to prevent investors from being duped. This will curb dubious persons from being Directors of Co-operative banks.
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It would also be very proper to amend the Act to prohibit by law and bar persons in conflict of interest from being on the Board of Housing and Building Maintenance Societies.It will be appropriate to ensure that Housing and Building Societies do not become dens of making money by vested interests. We have been all sadly watching and witnessing all this rot right in our backyards in many Housing societies. This growing malaise of Directors using it as an avenue to enrich their pockets has to stop.
People in real estate and construction contractors should by law never be entrusted with the management of any Housing Society. This represents a conflict of interest and worse still is a temptation to enrich themselves at the expense of the many.
Housing societies should be managed by retired people of caliber and integrity who volunteer their time, knowledge and experience for the benefit and welfare of the society. It cannot be an opportunity for unscrupulous elements to merrily plough in the moolah while betraying the interests of the residents of the building society.
If Societies fail to be administered with stringent honesty, integrity and accountability to its members then they will fail to operate as Societies and it will lead to their collapse with a breakdown in trust and a loss of hard earned savings. The law has to ensure that there is absolute transparency and accountability in the working and functioning of every building or housing society with Zero Tolerance to any sort of corruption, manipulation and insider dealings.
Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar
Gift exchange events
It is understood that a ‘gift exchange event’ was recently held at Big Foot, Loutolim where people could drop off for the needy things that were no longer used at home. These things that are of no use can be exchanged for items displayed at the venue. This is indeed a novel idea. To give things to the poor that are of no use and at the same time get something one needs in exchange will encourage people to donate. This will be a win-win situation for both the giver and the taker.
There could be several things in the house like clothes, crockery, utensils, etc. which are not being used and which can be exchanged. There could be expensive items around the house which the owners may not want to part with. However if the owner can get something in exchange for it, the person may have a rethink. This was the first time such an event was held. It is learnt that the response was phenomenal and that plans are afoot to host such an event again before Christmas this year.
Given the advantage such an event of swapping things holds and the response it got, it would be desirable to have them on a regular basis and at other places as well, so that people can give away things gathering dust in the house and at the same time not feel the pinch.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Covid might piggyback in
With tourism gradually resuming in Goa sans any mandatory checks for visitors there is clear and present danger of the virus tiptoeing in again, courtesy flouting of basic safety norms by inbound travellers. It is with great difficulty that the government has achieved some semblance of control over the pandemic but all the toil and sweat put in by our doctors would come to nought if we do not exercise abundant caution.Ìt is all very well to frame SOPs ( who checks their implementation?) and mandate that hotels should henceforth earmark separate rooms for Covid ‘guests’. That’s an anomaly in itself, how does one determine whether a guest is infected or not unless he/ she is tested at the point of arrival. Agreed that tourism is a massive revenue generator but it should not result in a second / third wave of disease (Delhi and Kerala are a case in point) hitting our shores.Visitors are making merry flouting social distancing or masking norms though locals are still circumspect and law abiding. It is pertinent to note that a significant number of Covid +ve cases are out of state tourists and the dangerous part is that almost all of them were asymptomatic until tested.
If need be the ‘ Indian Reserve Batallion’ should be redeployed across Goa to keep a check on law breaking visitors (as they say laaton ke bhoot baaton sey nahi maantey), harsh punitive measures both pecuniary and restrictive should be imposed on such souls.It is an irony that when phase-3 trials of the indigenous Covaxin trials are scheduled to commence in the state we have potential superspreaders having a free run of our beautiful land. If not anything else , please make Covid testing mandatory for all tourists as was done before, that is my humble submission to the HM and our CM.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Total eclipse of the heart!
Renewable energy is what the earth needs today. Thermal(coal) and nuclear power plants are giving way to Solar and Hydrogen power plants. Green is in. The word ‘green’ here refers to plants. While bringing in green energy, we must not actually sacrifice plants!
Goa Govt. has signed an MoU with EESL to install 100 MW solar power plants to be installed on Govt. land! Goa is the first: innovative or guinea pig? This requires 4 acres of land or 16000 sq. mt. if you use high efficiency polycrystalline panels. Knowing Goa’s ‘expertise’ at negotiation, we might be strapped with monocrystalline panels. Presently, Govt. land exists in panchayat offices, which is nicely utilised as ‘green’ areas with ornamental plants. Are these going to make way for blue/grey reflecting farms? Is more land going to be acquired for ‘public good’?
Surely, we must start from ground level and not the present way. The red, barren mining pits-discarded- are the ideal grounds for a double ‘greening’ endeavour. And Stadium roofs! Ah, but the village ground is ‘soft’?
Punjab’s subsidized solar power plants are pegged at Rs22000/- for 1Kw. Payback can be in 5 to 6 years. What is it in Goa? No policy? Funny, how ‘ideas’ come from the Centre only. In Goa, the payback is 12 to 15 years and getting subsidy for homes is dicy. Instead of lowering the capital costs, once subsidy was announced, all material costs have gone up. Only ‘empanelled’ agencies can do these jobs for obvious reasons.
As the song goes: we should not have to listen to the sound of our tears.
R Fernandes, Margao
Release Fr Stan Swamy
Fr Stan Swamy’s arrest on the night of October 8, 2020, has caused a stir among many people in India, where he has spent more than 70 years of his life relentlessly fighting for the rights and values of the people. His arrest is a violation of human rights and the case against him is totally fake and fabricated.
Fr Stan Swamy whose full name is Fr Stanislaus Lourdusamy, is a veteran tribal rights activist who has worked for over fifty years in Jharkhand fighting for the rights of the Adivasi community. He was vocal on the discrimination against the tribal and Dalit communities in the state. The false charges against this 83-year-old ailing priest aim to discredit intellectuals, legal professionals and social activists who raise their voices for the rights of the poorest of the poor people. It is nothing but a complete concoction and absolute falsehood that is being propagated against him.
Fr Stan Swamy is not a terrorist as the country has picturised him. His arrest is not fair and he should be released under any circumstances.
Jubel D’Cruz, Mumbai
