FRIDAY, MAY 03, 2024
Waste sentinels need of the hour
It is learnt that the villagers in Benaulim have stepped up their efforts to catch and shame those who dump waste along the roadsides in the village.
The alert locals, who have been maintaining a day and night vigil on the increased garbage dumping, in the wee hours recently caught two people while dumping chicken waste at a secluded place. The culprits were made to clean the entire stretch of the road and were fined by the panchayat. It is understood that locals joined hands several years ago against the garbage dumping, launching the round-the-clock vigil to prevent people from dumping unsegregated waste. The group caught as many as 150 violators in the recent past.
It must be said that the authorities concerned cannot be at all places all the time to apprehend those dumping the waste in open spaces more so during the night time. Hence it is left to the residents to keep a vigil on those dumping waste in open spaces and water bodies. The locals could form ‘waste sentinels’ in order to keep a check on such illegal activities just like ‘traffic sentinels’ were formed to check traffic violations in the past. This will go a long way in preventing dumping of garbage by the wayside, especially in the villages.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Student powers and responsibilities
The ABVP students protest in St Xavier's College which is one of the premier colleges in Goa opens up many questions and one of the questions is asked by Mr Mathew Almeida from Bastora in his letter to the Herald Editor titled, "Can the SDM intervene in educational matters?". In fact it is a good question for the Education Minister of Goa to answer and for the lay people to know what are the powers of the Magistrates, Mamlatdar's, Police, Education Department and the Ministers.
The other question is what are the rights and duties of the students. Can students be affiliated to political parties and bring their political supporters on the college campus and terrorise their fellow students, teachers and management? And what is the role of the police, Mamlatdar and Magistrates in controlling law and order? What examples have the ABVP students set for those who are watching them? What example has the SDM set by asking the college management to induct students in the student bodies who have behaved like goons? And my last question is to the students themselves and also their parents, what example will you/have you set to/for your children to follow? What you give is what you get.
Matias Lobo, Tivim
Independence of judiciary is vital
There should be Zero tolerance to even the faintest governmental interference in the functioning of our judiciary. Our Constitution of India is very clear on the distinct roles of the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. It envisages a free, fair and independent Judiciary. The highest standards of judicial independence must always be ensured.
With the sanctity of the other pillars of our democracy currently severely dented, our only hope is the Judiciary but with the government wanting to overpower the Judiciary too, there is a very disturbing disquiet over the slippery slope on which judicial values are slithering.
An effective judiciary guarantees fairness in judicial processes and transparency. The Public must be confident that the judiciary is beyond reproach. Transparency is a fundamental component of judicial independence. Any direct or indirect interference by the politicians in the selection, elevation and promotion of Judges or even in their transfer is a threat to the very Independence of the Judiciary.
If the Judiciary is reduced to being a mouthpiece of the government, the Courts will lose all relevance. It has to be ensured that judicial accountability is maintained at all times with every Judge conforming to the highest standards of uprightness and integrity to the Rule of law.
Judges should be ready to fearlessly take on the authorities for their illegal actions. The bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law and an independent judiciary, which is truly independent. A judiciary that is accountable only to the Rule of Law and never ever succumbs to those in Power.
Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar
Blocking leads to further doubts
It is reported by the government agencies that the BBC documentary,’ India: The Modi question’ has tried to implicate our Prime Minister in the Gujarat carnage 2002 with a sinister move to tarnish his image. If the conscience of the Prime Minister is clear that he was not involved either directly or indirectly in the Gujarat massacre that followed the Godhra incident and was convinced that his exoneration by the Supreme Court was justified, he should not have allowed his government to block the BBC documentary. He should have allowed the people of the country who have also witnessed the massacre of over thousands of people by a frenzied mob carrying lethal weapons while the police passively watched all the arson, looting, raping of women, burning of business establishments and houses and cold- blooded murder of men, women and children by them, to be the judge.
The BBC is not an organization to go in for paid news to propagate falsehood or compromise on issues concerning anyone irrespective of the status they hold. Is there any time frame to air a well analyzed picture of any issue about which doubts loom large over the minds of the people of the world, even today? We have also witnessed a ‘murdered’ person surfacing after many decades and the judiciary, with all regrets and apology, releasing the person condemned to jail for the concerned murder! Outright blocking of the documentary in question will only raise many questions in the minds of the people on the 2002 incident which is an indelible back mark in the fabric of Indian history.
Tharcius S. Fernando, Chennai
Palm oil plantations will lead to water scarcity
The SC appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has rightly questioned the need to revive the palm oil crop on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, as any such ambitious push for indigenous palm oil cultivation in forest lands will only add to the already existing problem of water scarcity and will trigger conversion of forest areas into palm oil plantations. For a country like India, where agriculture is the backbone of its economic system, with two-thirds of the population engaged in farming, the large-scale adoption of palm oil cultivation, which has a long gestation period, will have a major impact on the economic security of our farmers. The central government is well aware of the impediments it will face when it goes towards increasing production of palm oil in the archipelago.
Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai
Calling attention to climate crisis
It is really disturbing to note that climate change and its impact have been playing havoc with agriculture and global economic growth one way or another. First off, Mother Earth has been host to plenty of natural resources from rivers to seas to mountains to trees to food crops – to mention a few. In other words, almost all the countries and continents in the world have been home to such natural resources. Well, this is true of even continents like Africa where deep forest areas have been quite common.
On the other hand, the same African continent has long been reeling from severe economic crises and food shortage problems caused by bad elements like corrupt governments, not to mention climate change crises. The East or the West, the fact of the matter is that there have still been severe climate consequences up ahead.
P Senthil Saravana Durai, Mumbai
