Letters to the Editor

The Opinion Poll Square was erected with great fanfare, with carrot of erecting statue may be to gain sympathy of certain section. The portraits of those involved in the movement were erected in open and said square vanishes with onset of heavy rains, thereby going down the drain public money.

Surprisingly this issue has not seen light of day in print media which is considered as watchdog, but otherwise giving coverage for irrelevant issues e.g. morcha, press reports. etc. There was enough enclosed space (even to play football) in nearby Ravindra Bhavan, where portraits could have been erected on permanent basis yet both sides of road used and even police was posted. This is shear wasteful of Govt. expenditure for temporary gimmick for party gain.

The amount needs to be recovered and public to press for it. It has become trend of the moment, once one becomes Minister he gets licence to go on spree of spending relentlessly as per whims as if public has no say. Further the Minister considers as meant for his constituency only and not for State, as seen from day to day behaviour of many, which is a serious matter. It is unbecoming of Minister to argue during inspections with battalion around. Even then the passages in market places are now fully encroached than ever before. The Minister is supposed to convince the public in question and understand their practical problems and attempt to solve them. It is hoped better sense prevails with elected representatives and also media.

BVS Priolkar, Margao

Apropos the letter, "Yoga for best of ....." by Mahesh Kapasi (Herald, June 21, 2018), a yoga asana or yoga exercise can only be beneficial if it is done under the proper guidance. This note of caution needs to be stressed while popularising such asanas. Moreover, yoga asanas on a yoga mat must be called "yoga asanas" as such and not as "yoga" simply because it limits the meaning of yoga. Yoga asanas can only be a part of yoga and certainly not the whole concept of yoga. 

Yoga cannot be described as religious teaching either as religion spoils the very concept of yoga. Yoga is all about realising the oneness by tuning our body and mind to the cosmic spirit. The literal meaning of yoga is to add, to connect. Whereas religion can divide as it is forced willy-nilly to preach,   "Mine is better than yours". 

Though it is almost impossible to imagine infinity but we simply cannot deny its existence. If space or time is finite then the question will arise what is there after the finite boundary. And if there are many finite boundaries   one after another then that question will itself become an infinite one! Indeed, we have to admit that time, space and even numbers are not finite. They are infinite. And the infinite means the One   no duality. 

So, everything is in yoga or in other words, in unison. They cannot be made finite or segregated. There is no place for "our god is better than your god" sort of religious business. Unfortunately, when spiritual endeavours produce religions, they become blind and start fighting among themselves about whether an elephant is like a trunk or a snake or a rope or a fan causing oceans of bloodshed in the process over the years. On the other hand, yoga is all about spirituality and unity and fraternity.

Sujit De, Kolkatta

This has reference to the editorial “Another white elephant, and it’s not a surprise (Herald June 21). It is true that parking has indeed become a major problem in the cities and having multi-level car parking facility is being looked upon as a way to solve this problem. But the question to be asked is how many car owners in the state would prefer to park their vehicle in the multi-level car park and walk to their destination?

Parking their vehicles in the multi-level car parking facility would be welcomed by those who park their car for the whole day. But it would not attract those who go to the market-place to do some shopping or visit the government offices for some official work which may take a short time. These people would rather prefer to park their vehicles close to their destination even if it meant indulging in double-parking.

Goans may be averse to use of multi-level car parking facility and many could probably consider it as inconvenient and time-consuming. It seems that the use of multi-level car parking facility has still not caught up with the vehicular drivers in Goa like in other states, as is evident from the underutilised facility in Panjim. Hence before spending crores of rupees of public fund in building multi-level car parking facilities in other cities in the state, the government needs to do a feasibility study of such projects so that they do not end up as a white elephant. 

Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco

The Goa government has been fighting many land issues, and illegal building construction issues in recent times. Whether there is a case of a building collapsing in Canacona or whether it is the comunidade land being usurped by private parties, all these are grave problems for land starved Goa.

Another issue which is cropping up like weed is the illegal sale of open space by the builder to a flat owner. For example, a terrace is an open space which cannot be sold by the builder, yet the builder sells it, and no action gets taken against him. A building terrace is an escape route for the residents of the building in case of fire or any other disaster.

The TCP needs to come down heavily on such builders who are violating the law and selling open spaces in the building. A timely action by the authorities can help maintain the safety of the people, and keep a check on such unscrupulous, fly by night builders. 

Rony Shah, Mapusa