10 Sep 2018 | 05:25am IST
Letters to the Editor
The Disability Rights Association of Goa (DRAG) has rightly demanded state award to special teachers too is justified and the Government should immediately consider the demand made by DRAG’s President Mr Avelino D’sa.
The Director of Education Dept and Minister for Education Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar will have to make provision in this regard.
We need to understand that Goa govt. under the stewardship of Manohar Parrikar has many schemes floated for the PWD and more needs to be done for them in sports, welfare and health for that they are different people who dedicate their lives for these causes and one of them are the special teachers and to support these teachers we have private and Govt. schools special teachers doing a very marvellous thankless job.
Hats off to them and I appeal to the Govt. and also to the Health Minister Vishwajit Rane who also hold the women and child portfolio to initiate the idea for awarding the special teachers and recognizing their teaching vocation.
Recently there were reports on destruction of a sand dune at Sernabatim, Colva. This is a serious crime against the environment and can have horrific consequences with people in the area could be seriously affected by a possible “man made” natural calamity in the future.
Can the Goa Government pass stringent laws including heavy fines and long term imprisonment for the perpetrators? Of course, if the Government is really serious about protecting the environment!
It is understood that 1000-1200 cases of cancer are reported across the state of Goa annually (Herald September 8). This is a disturbing number of cancer cases detected for a small state like Goa. There could be many more patients in various stages of cancer who probably never got themselves tested for the dreaded disease. There has also reportedly been a steady rise in the number of breast cancer in the state.
What is also disturbing is that Goa is reportedly the worst or the number one state in the country with cases of colon cancer.
Over the past couple of months there has been a lot of public uproar when it was found that fish laced with formalin was being sold in the market.
It is a known fact that formalin is a cancerous chemical. Early detection of cancer is important.
But more important is the prevention of the spread of the disease since prevention is better than cure.
To prevent the growing number of cancer cases in the state it is essential to get to the root cause as to why cancer has become so prevalent in the state.
For this it would be prudent for the government to come out with a ‘White Paper’ on the reason behind the spread of the disease after carrying out a study with inputs from the government and private hospitals.
The next step would be for the government to take all necessary measures to arrest the spread of the disease.
At the recently concluded Bonderam festival at Divar, the floats emphasized on environmental issues by asking the people to embrace culture & primitive methods for sustenance.
But what followed was utterly disgusting as there was an over dose of English songs, I'm not against English songs but why was Konkani was given a step motherly treatment?
This festival is promoted by PYA as a traditional & cultural event, I want to ask the organizers, is English part of our culture ? Is dancing not possible with Konkani songs?
At the Konkani musical show organized by Herald Group at Panjim, I observed many people including the tourists dancing to Goan tunes. This reckless tilting towards Western culture has driven our youth to the West & then we blame the politicians for not creating jobs in Goa.
The PYA should seriously make note of this or else the fate of our already eroding culture will be like smouldering stub.
This is in response to Carlos Lewis's letter titled "Is suicide an answer to all problems?"(September 8). I will have to award utmost respect and honour to the extremely well-intention of Lewis.
Rightly suicide cannot be the solution of any problem or depression. But certain realities are also needed to be acknowledged in the same instant.
Burning problems ranging from financial to health to marital; falling victim to conspiracy by the vested interests and the dreaded scar of "feeling unwanted" (the greatest misfortune of life as repeatedly emphasised by Mother Teresa) -- can never get solved by the advice of the "specialists".
No purposeful or soulful activity can remove the resultant pain if thorn of atrocities, intolerance, hatred, conspiracy, poverty and fatal disease are waiting indoors or in the society with poisonous fangs.
How can a mother's mood get uplifted if her daughter gets trafficked or minor son being brutally exploited as bonded labour?
If blood oozes out when a sword of rusted iron gets inserted in the body; then the very same blood will also ooze out from the heart as well if the sword of hatred, conspiracy, poverty and disease struck the mind.
This hard reality can never be pooh-poohed as "just passing events". Only the wearer knows best where the shoe pinches. I respect Lewis's extreme well-intention, what I point out is that life is definitely not a gift for innumerable hapless souls.
Now, LGBT is legal in India, it is quite regrettable and shocking decision for the majority of India.
Homosexuality is quite unnatural and against the tenets of human birth.
It is against our culture too. Now, it will be the cause of many domestic quarrel. It will ruin our valuable culture and unforgettable heritage, where people live with modesty.
Due to this decision, the rights of wives will be snatched. Definitely, it will have the effect on birth of children in India, may be after some decades we will have to borrow the army for protecting the country from other countries.
At least, it should not be decriminalized in India, where the people firmly believe in their religions and they have a deep attachment with their religion and religious scriptures.
As Indian citizens we respect the judgment of SC but it is totally regrettable moment to grant gay sex or homosexuality constitutionally because it is against human nature physically and logically even this regrettable sense does not exist among the animals too.
This historical verdict will lead to disasters in large-scale across the country, the public morality will suffer and there would be widespread outbreak of many sexually transmitted disease. When every living thing naturally, by divine system, has a male and female it is needless to adopt any non-natural way.
It will impact severally on our martial life and will open a very wide way to deprive women of their rights too.
