Pan-Aadhaar linking
is contempt of SC
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
The linking of the Aadhaar and the PAN card is in contempt of the Supreme Court verdict that states that the Aadhaar is not mandatory to link with the PAN card which is meant for financial transactions. It should be stressed here that the Aadhaar card contains sensitive and secret bio-metrics which is not to be shared by any of the government institutions. The Rs 1000 fine which is imposed is illegal and for those who do not pay Income Tax it is for no reason at all a one-time fee that they should not be paying to the Income Tax department because the Income Tax department is not doing any favours to them.
It would be in the fitness of things that the united Opposition parties in India on behalf of the over 70 crore Indians who have still not linked the PAN with the Aadhaar card should file a petition in the Supreme Court much before June 30, 2023 to stop this illegally gotten gains by the Income Tax department in violation of Supreme Court verdict which is the apex court of country.
Elvidio Miranda, Panjim
Communal harmony is
the hallmark of Goa
It must be said that the state of Goa is a very fine example of people living in communal harmony for the country and rest of the world. For the first time in 13 years, the Milagres feast at Mapusa and Shree Devi Lairai Zatra in Shirgao will reportedly be celebrated on April 24.
It is understood that devotees have traditionally believed both Milagres Saibin and Lairai Devi are sisters and follow an age-old custom to offer oil to the Milagres Saibin from Shirgao Devasthan and to offer Mogra flowers to Lairai Devi from the St Jerome Church in Mapusa. The two festivals were last celebrated on the same day in 1970 and 2010. Goa is known for social harmony, brotherhood where all religious festivals are celebrated together by people belonging to different communities. Communal harmony is the hallmark of the state of Goa. For the people of Goa, religion is a private affair. They have respected each other’s practices, symbols, festivities, etc. Goans have carried along with them, the spirit of peace, tolerance and harmony, wherever they migrated within the country or across the globe. Goans take part in each other’s festivals, like Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, Christmas, Eid, Mapusa Milagres Feast, Fatorpa Yatra, Bambolim Cross feast, etc. The Feast of St Francis Xavier, popularly known as ‘Goencho Saib’, is attended by all Goans and non-Goans irrespective of their religion. Many other ceremonies, like marriages, funerals, cremations, etc, are attended by all communities, thus bonding their brotherly ties in the land. Nothing can take this bonding away.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Respect laws
of the land
I have noticed that in the priority list for the modern generation, vehicles come first. They purchase, big noise making bikes and four wheelers and just park them on roads. No authorities question them for violating the law or road rules. For example at Dongorim, Navelim side, one can observe several vehicles just parked sides of the interior roads there by blocking smooth flow of traffic mostly during peak hours.
Big noise making bikes are irritating for senior citizens and sick people.
Armando Fernandes, Navelim
Taps run dry
every summer
There is no reason why we should cry, no water, these days. Goa receives more than average rainfall every year and yet every summer we find our taps running dry. Those in authority when questioned play the blame game.
For the last one or so week, we have no water and
inquiries to find the reason the scarcity has fallen on deaf ears.
How long shall we carry on this way is the lament of many villagers below the Kadamba depot plateau, Porvorim. Indeed, the poor functioning of the PWD and the haphazard unplanned work and rupturing of the underground water pipelines is the main reason of water short supply these days.
Ayres Sequeira, Salvador do Mundo
Undertrails need
relief, succour
The third India Justice Report (2022), an assessment by a conglomeration of some reputed organisations that ranks Indian states in terms of their structural and financial capacity to deliver access to justice based on quantitative measurements of budgets, human resources, infrastructure, workload, diversity across police, prison, judiciary and legal aid has said that the states have fallen short in every parameter of assessment in varied measures.
In general, it has said that undertrials abound in the Indian prisons and has linked poverty with undertrials. Also, shortage of judges in courts has been highlighted apart from the general police shortcomings.
But these are all known facts.
The report could have done a yeoman’s service to India’s criminal justice system if it had focused on the biggest roadblock to access justice, and its delivery, in the above democratic institutions: procedural rigmarole. Every organ of India’s democracy is riddled with needless procedures and unending monotony. Staff crunch and fund underutilisation form only tip of the iceberg. It is important for police stations to be people friendly and courts to be flexible.
Citizens are tentative when it comes to visiting institutions that are meant to dispense relief and succour to them. Have the poorest of poor undertrials languishing in Indian prisons been benefited by government’s legal aid? No amount of report can change the substance of justice dispensation if the latter cannot change its style.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
New destination for
tech criminals
This has reference to the Editorial ‘Is this Goa’s Jamtara moment?’ (Herald 13 April, 2023).
Goa’s Jamtara moment – an interesting, informative, enlightening Editorial!
Crimes, especially cybercrimes are dangerously on the rise in the country, we cannot deny that, we cannot brush the fact below the carpet. It is a reality, whether you want to believe it or not. What is worrying, is the ease with which the culprits commit crimes, setting up such cybercrime centres, etc. Such fake call center rackets have been busted in cities like Mumbai as well in the past. And such crimes seem to be committed by the not so educated ones. According to the Editorial, Goa seems to be the new destination for ‘tech’ criminals. Well, they will continue to find new destinations for their crimes in future. The questions is, could their brains and their capabilities be put to better use?
Melville X D’Souza, Mumbai
Recognise value
of the earth
When did Earth Day grow into Earth Month? Does it mean that we can choose any one of the 30 days to do “it” or we should do “it” for all the 30 days of the month? Well, let’s first see what they want us to do this year. Is it an easy “do”? Does it save “me” money?
According to the World Economic Forum, by the year 2050, our oceans are expected to contain more plastic than fish. Essentially, this really means how much plastic we’ll be eating. Plastic, a fossil fuel product, does not biodegrade, instead it breaks down into tiny pieces that the fish eat, and then we eat the fish. Another common destination for plastic is the landfill. Since it contains toxic chemicals, landfills then contaminate groundwater.
I suggest, we really need to try working on ending plastic pollution every day. It’s not hard, and it saves everyone’s money. Just like our trash cans, our garages and our homes, the earth has limited space to store junk.
The theme for this year Earth Day is “Invest in our planet”. So let us follow this theme and put an end to plastic.
Jubel D’Cruz, Mumbai
