TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024
Is SGDH a
referral hospital?
The South Goa District Hospital (SGDH) was built during the Congress regime under the leadership of Digambar Kamat.
He had assured the people that once this hospital is ready and starts functioning, the people of South Goa will not have to go to Goa Medical College Hospital for any type of medical requirements. Every medical facility will be available here and even may be better than what we get at the GMC.
After the completion of the building, this white elephant was standing there unused. It was only in the year 2020 when Covid cases were out of control, the ruling BJP government thought of utilising it and that too in haste.
After that till this date, this South Goa District Hospital is without heads of some departments. Some medical facilities are not available. If one doctor is available in the morning, he is not there in the evening. There is no pharmacy and no canteen. This hospital is incompetent. Every now and then patients are referred to Goa Medical College due to unavailability of the right doctor or the right medicine. Recently, a friend of mine was urgently in need of a particular injection.
When he consulted this SGDH, he was told that it was not available here and directed to go to the GMC. He had to go all the way from Cavelossim to Bambolim to take one injection spending one full day. Is this hospital really a district hospital or a health centre? Or is it a referral hospital? Where are the promises and assurances given to the people of South Goa?
During the last two assembly sessions, the Benaulim MLA Capt Venzy brought these hardships faced by south Goa people because of negligence.
For how long will the people of South Goa have to suffer?
Natividade Fernandes, Cavelossim
Brave jawans
overpower Naxals
In the never-ending battle between the police and the Maoists, the former has almost decimated the latter. A fierce battle that culminated in the killing of more than five deadly Maoists in Jharkhand's Chatra near its border with Palamu Monday is another example. One of the naxals killed carried a reward of 25 lakh on his head and two carried five lakh each. The intensity of the combat can be judged by the huge cache of arm and ammunition recovered by the police from the encounter spot. Maoists are adept at taking the police force unawares by their sudden ambushes. This time, however, the jawans were too strong for the naxals. A few jawans were injured, hopefully they will recover. Couple of top Maoists leaders, including Gautam Paswan were eliminated.
Naxals operate in dense forests, and knowledge of forest and hilly terrain separate the highly trained police force from others. Familiarity with the surroundings and rapport with the locals have acted as weapons for the police in their war against the Maoists. Intelligence gathering has been a Maoist--forte; but the police gradually have succeeded in beating the opponents at their own game. Counselling the local tribals against giving-in to the Maoists-demands figures right on top of the police agenda. Over the years, many Naxals have given up their violent ways in several states; the credit should go to the concerted effort of the security forces. A combination of humanitarian touch and taking the fight into the Maoists camp have paid rich dividends to the security personnel.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
Our nation is
at crossroads
We should all be very concerned as to where our country is heading. All this patriotism-induced blindness is making it a force against the very Constitution of our India which believes in secularism and guarantees equality, justice, and a fair playing field to every citizen of the country regardless of caste, creed or religion.
Its narrow loyalty almost turns into a communal spirit, causing untold damage to unity and development of this nation. It is forced to resort to undemocratic and fascist ways to achieve its hidden goals. In this context, the evil of Communalism poses a far greater threat to this nation than even the cancer of corruption.
What is more anguishing is that this devious coterie of so-called champions of patriotism is slowly spreading poison in the minds of the silent majority of the majority community which is only dragging our country backwards. The uncalled for vicious tirade even against writers, thinkers and journalists and the brazen suppression of the media with the ruling party shedding crocodile tears, does not augur well for the very survival of our democracy.
There is a desperate need for unity among all political and secular forces who believe in our Constitution, in equality and freedom. Let the nation wake up to an old warning by Edmund Burke “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.
Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar
Prevaricators
of history
After seeing to it that the truth relating to Mahatma Gandhi and the facts relating to the nature and real conduct of the Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leading to its ban were deleted and the two- page chapter on Gujarat riot of 2002 in the text books reduced to simply two lines, it is unfortunate that D P Saklani, Director, NCERT has casually said that failure to declare the deletions in textbooks, was an oversight! His comment that the issue was being 'blown out of proportion' and that those doing it were taking a 'narrow-minded' approach clearly exhibits his mind set.
As alleged by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha member Manish Tiwari, it appears to be an attempt by the BJP-RSS to distort and rewrite the history of the country in line with their ideologies. That the Education Ministry has refrained from commenting on the development is also a case in point.
It is time our renowned historians and national- minded people came together to nip this surreptitious move of the powers that be in the bud itself, lest we leave a totally distorted version of the glorious history of our beloved nation to our future generation.
Tharcius S Fernando, Chennai
