30 LETTERS 2013

This refers to the People’s Edit ‘Of big houses and small minds’ (Herald, February 18, 2013). The article made for an interesting and informative read. It is true that enmity prevails with our neighbours, friends, relatives and brothers and sisters. This does not happen in any other parts of India even though they are rich!  In 1980, the Kadamba Transport Corporation Ltd. (KTCL) started inter-state luxury and semi-luxury buses. Nouveau riche Goans began complaining that mud/dust resulted due to travelling by these buses. But the same buses are still running in neighboring states of Karnataka and Maharashtra. They have stopped the Mumbai service. Private buses taking this opportunity, started running the buses, but charged heavily as they desired, especially during season and festival time, while plying the same old buses. Even outsiders/migrants think that all Goans are rich and charge heavily to do small or odd jobs. Believing the same, robbers too come to the state. 

On one of my recent trips to the garden city, I was pleasantly surprised to see life-size and life-like cut-outs of the traffic cops put up by the Bangalore traffic police on the roads at strategic locations to deter offenders. Indeed from a distance and while driving these cutouts look like the traffic police themselves controlling the movement of the vehicles. Of course in due course road users will become aware of this strategy adopted by the traffic police. But nevertheless it will always create a doubt in the mind of the divers whether it is just a cut-out or the policeman in person, especially when time and again the locations where these cutouts are placed are changed. During the ongoing assembly session Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar who is also the home minister mentioned there is an acute shortage of police personnel at the various police stations in the state. Probably the strategy adopted by the Bangalore police could be tried out on Goan roads by putting up cut-outs of the Goa police at strategic locations. It may sound absurd but is probably worth a try.

Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco            

Apropos the news regarding sad demise of PSI Ponda, Abhishekh Gomes, deliberately killing by truck driver from Punjab. It was very saddening to  hear the news of tragic death of PSI, Ponda Abhishekh Gomes while on official duty. 

We share the grief of bereaved family of late Abhishek Gomes. May his soul rest in peace.

Today all governments take the easiest way out.  They convert what is illegal to legal. This has also been done in the RP2021. By just changing the colour on the map with one stroke of the brush all illegalities are made illegal! People need not wait for a complaint to take action the same should have been done by the authorities anywhere when it comes to squatters. The trouble is we tend to ignore a problem in the initial stages and let it grow and multiply until it assumes menacing proportions. Let us not forget the politician and his precious vote bank. It’s slums like this that makes politicians arrogant enough to tell his Goan voters “ I do not need your votes”. Finally this is a slap on the face of the law abiding citizen. It’s a clear message people are fools for following the law. 

This refers to the People’s edit ‘Preparing for Easter’ (Herald, March 26, 2013). It was a nice one. Christianity is a way of living. Jesus wanted us just to love God and our neighbour. Children have forgotten the love and sacrifices made by their parents. There is no bond of love between spouses and between parents and children. Catholics follow rituals only during Lent until Easter only to be forgotten later. Humans do not follow the right way of life. Cheating and looting is the way of modern life. Those who have want more; those who do not have are left on the road and many times what is due to them is snatched. We senior citizens are left helpless as our wealth is  enjoyed by our children and we do not have anything for us. 

The editorial  ‘Breach of Trust?’  (Herald, March 25, 2013) was  a fantastic read and an eye opener for both Goan politicians and the Goan  masses. Nobody can deny that the late Matanhy Saldanha was extremely against the construction of the Mopa airport. The statement, in the editorial   “Apparently, the ruling dispensation has gone back on the solemn commitment made at the funeral of Matanhy, promising to keep his legacy alive,” was right.  Would he, if he had been among us today, accepted and/or signed up to the chief minister’s statement? Your guess is as good as ours. Herald is known for such hard exposures  and this is the time we expect Herald to talk loudly and clearly so that the government can take note of it. Can Herald still give us few more hard talks?

This refers to the news report “CM: Advisory for mandatory registration of migrants soon” (Herald, March 27, 2013). Nearly 50 % of all crimes committed in the State are directly or indirectly connected with migrants. These out-of-state casual workers employed in construction,  security, household work  et al  have no police verification and are untraceable in case of crimes committed by them. The move to have them registered is an absolute necessity. They should also be required to possess adhaar cards. They may be given a time-frame of one year to procure  this. Thereafter no unregistered worker should be given employment  without a card. In the meantime local Goan workforce should be trained  in security services, house-keeping and skilled construction work like masonry, tiling, plumbing, electric-work and other small  odd jobs.

Crores of public money have been wasted or gone into the pockets of the erstwhile Congress ministers and PWD officials for the construction of the new collectorate in South Goa.  Why was the chief  minister in such a hurry to inaugurate the building  before its completion?  Most of the work is underway and incomplete. It looks very beautiful from outside but inside it is dirty and filthy. The area around the toilets have already started dampening, which means that the work of the building is substandard. The lifts are not of good quality.  People have to travel all the way to Ambajim to enter the  collectorate building  and those   travelling by  bus, have to walk another 200 to 300 meters. Only two MLAs  ~ Vijay Sardessai and Mickky Pacheco ~  have raised their voices against this as all other elected members  have no say in this regard. There is no difference between the BJP and Congress party, both are same with different labels.