SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2024
If there’s no problem there’s no solution?
The Supreme Court (SC) has been told that there are 4,442 pending cases where MPs and MLAs face trial in criminal cases in different courts. The data sent by the High Courts shows many cases pending for a very long time and in several cases non-bailable arrest warrants issued by trial courts were yet to be executed. The SC and EC seem to have left it to the political class and the people to clean the system. Prashant Bhushan has moved the SC appealing his contempt conviction, prepared to go to jail for the problem to be acknowledged. Democracy cannot survive without the common man having easy access to justice against the government and the rich and powerful. The SC must uphold the Constitutional right to free speech, right to life and liberty equally, be you so high or low.
John Eric Gomes, Porvorim
No roadmap for economic revival
Shutting down of business enterprises is definitely bad news. The 50 businessmen in Goa who have applied for cancellation of their licences is symbolic of the general state of affairs in the rest of the country. Thousands of businesses, traders, start-ups have shut down due to the economic recession. It is apparent now that the mindless policies of the government have led to this distressing situation. Even before COVID-19 the government was all at sea, not having a roadmap to set right the economy. In the present circumstances, there seems to be no other option than to pull down the shutters. What happens then, to our dreams of a Five Trillion Economy?
Melville X D’Souza, Mumbai
The wild west coast
Of late the crime graph in Goa has shot North with a vengeance. Consider this: 42 persons have been arrested for gambling in Calangute, 5 tourists from Chandigarh have been detained for circulating counterfeit currency, flyover undersides in Baina and elsewhere are used as rendezvous points for drunkards and antisocial elements, there is a friendly neighbourhood matka operator every 50 metres in the coastal villages, illegal liquor smuggling rackets are running at border checkpoints, a sawmill owner is brutally assaulted in Assagao. Notice that I am not even mentioning the usual suspects like drugs and prostitution. Law breakers who are arrested magically get bail faster than you can say ‘why’, no wonder crime is up in Goa by 67 per cent over the last three years. Tools for surveillance and detecting/averting crime like CCTV cameras and beat policing are non-functional/non-existent and the authorities seem to be least bothered. The administration is in limbo and the law enforcement agencies in suspended animation. There needs to be a strong political will and concerted effort by all stakeholders to rein in crime or the State shall soon turn into a devil’s playground, something akin to the wild west in 19th century America.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Reactive governance leads to malfunction
The murder in Margao has woken up the government, when already dusty CCTV cameras in the vicinity were checked to find that if not all, most were dead. And to add to this, the police have discovered that most the CCTV cameras in major towns are out of service. Every such piece of equipment has a timely servicing budget to go with the installation, where is that budget and how is it used? In this case, even the local police stations where caught napping as it is also their responsibility to check if all CCTV cameras are operational or otherwise. Importantly, we call Goa a tourist destination, don’t you think this is another nail in the coffin, where return of the tourists is concerned.
In the modern world, even in villages, the community is switching on the benefits of CCTV security systems as they are convinced that this is the best means to secure them and their properties and also help in solving various types of crimes. The CCTV system provides people with an increased sense of security and reassurance, particularly in areas where the crime rate is high.
Gaston Dias, Sarzora
World ozone day
International Day for the preservation of the ozone layer September 16 is to spread awareness about the depletion of the ozone layer and search for possible solutions to preserve it. This year, we celebrate 35 years of global ozone layer protection. Ozone depletion has negative effects on our health, the environment and the economy. It is important to learn as much as possible on protecting oneself from UV rays, while adapting habits that reduce ozone depletion.
Life on Earth would not be possible without sunlight. But the energy emanating from the sun would be too much for life on Earth to thrive were it not for the ozone layer. This stratospheric layer shields Earth from most of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation.
In this year of the COVID-19 pandemic that has brought such social and economic hardship, the ozone treaties’ message of working together in harmony and for the collective good is more important than ever. The slogan of the day, ‘Ozone for life’, reminds us that not only is ozone crucial for life on Earth, but that we must continue to protect the ozone layer for future generations.
Farha Sayed, Benaulim/Mumbai
