FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024
Mhadei-A serious issue
As Mhadei row deepens, Karnataka chief minister gives to the people of his State good news after good news. And the announcement made by the central home minister was an icing on the cake for the Kannadigas.
Whereas here in Goa we are yet to see the bread, forget the cake as far as Mhadei issue is concerned. Everytime the only answer we get from our chief minister is that matter is in the Supreme Court. Chief Minister of Karnataka and even the Union Home Minister said that Goa Chief Minister was the partner in giving the approval to their Detailed Project Report (DPR) which they have achieved after facing all legal battles. He further says that Khalsa- Bhandura project is okayed as per law by the law whereas in Goa all is not well. The Mhadei issue has become a victim of suspense and disbelief as all political parties in the state are involved in washing each other’s dirty linen in public.
Is our state government really serious enough to stop this diversion? Till date many Goans still walk kilometres carrying pots of water on their heads, some still order water tankers because water only trickles in their taps. This happens when we have Mhadei water with us and what will happen if the same water is diverted to Karnataka? Government’s Har Ghar Jal policy is a total failure. On the northern side also our water is already diverted by Maharashtra and our Goa government is silent.
What will happen to Goan lives, wild sanctuaries, tiger reserves, Flora and Fauna etc if Goan water is diverted on all sides ?
Natividade Fernandes, Cavelossim
Salute to fire personnel
It is learnt that the Directorate of Fire and Emergency Services reportedly saved property worth Rs 89.40 crore last year of which 83.39 crore were from fire accidents while 6.01 crore was from other accidents. The fire personnel also saved one person from fire while 102 humans and 751 animals were saved from other accidents.
When we speak of ‘fire service' the one thing that comes to mind is that of the fire personnel fighting to douse a fire. These firemen are at the site in quick time to save people trapped in the building, saving goods, and then putting off the flames with water and foam pumps. In all these activities, the fire personnel are at risk of getting hurt as they have to climb great heights on the ladder and could even suffer burn injuries despite wearing protective gear. However it must be said that the fire personnel carry out multi-tasking activity as well. Besides attending to fire calls they also attend to emergency calls. These firemen were the frontline workers when COVID-19 pandemic hit Goa severely. The fire personnel were there to lend a helping hand during the cyclonic storm Tauktae which made a landfall in the Arabian Sea in May 2021. Firemen not only answer major emergency calls but also help in minor incidents like saving a stray animal having fallen in an open well, etc. A salute to these bravehearts who many-a-times are taken for granted.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Hard to buy the suicide story
The shocking incident last month makes me to put my head down in shame and repent for my karma for being born in Goa where the life security is so bad that it looks every citizen’s life is vulnerable for the death from the hands of criminals and worst part of this whole scenario is that the police is totally inefficient to track those culprits involved in these crimes by giving an easy excuse that so and so person’s body found hanging at so and so place is purely a case of suicide.
This is exactly what we are told of the death of our friend Joy and his two children whom Joy their father loved so much and as such it is extremely difficult to swallow the theory of suicide without much substance.
Gone were the days when we had powerful life security system in Goa where no crime would go undetected because we those days had policemen selected on the basis of merits. There was no bribe in lakhs of ‘Escudos’ or Rupees to get the Police Uniform and Security personnel were not permitted to buy for them the soft postings where they could make easy money.
During those days though the Goan policemen were not given top positions they were trained to be upright and sincere to their jobs. Though some of our Goan policemen were used to perform some of the dirty jobs but on duty they were strict to their Oath and for this the citizens were happy with them especially when they were providing life security to the citizens.
If Goa was fortunate to have our security personnel of the type we had once, the truth of the death of Joy and kids would easily come to light.
A Veronica Fernandes, Candolim
Politicians fishing in troubled waters
Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks during Jana Sankalp Yatra' rally in Belgavi that the BJP has resolved the dispute and given the river water to Karnataka, seems to be just to win the upcoming Karnataka elections.
Karnataka going to poll this summer and meanwhile such comments coming when the election is nearing is claim to credit. Mhadei has been sacrificed at the altar of politics as for the BJP, winning elections in Karnataka seems to be more important to anything else.
This is merely to fool the people of Karnataka and it indicates the jumla politics. This is not the first time Amit Shah has made a bullish statement on Mhadei: In 2018, while touring the districts in North Karnataka assured the people in Kalaburagi, that the party would solve the Mhadei dispute once it comes to power in the state. He also said that it was difficult to solve the issue when different parties were ruling in Karnataka and Goa. The more intriguing truth over Amit Shah’s statement is the fact the matter concerning the Mhadei river is still under hearing in the Supreme Court.
The Centre approving the DPR is itself questionable.
K G Vilop, Chorao
Deadliest suicide attack is scary
The Taliban suicide attack at a Pakistan mosque in which 61 worshippers perished, and over 150 were injured, deserves the strongest condemnation. At least five sub-inspectors and the mosque's prayer leader Maulana Sahibzada Noorul Amin, were among the dead. Besides, the impact of the blast was such that a portion of the mosque collapsed, leaving several people stranded under the debris.
The mid-day mayhem, termed as a revenge attack by the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), is one of the deadliest in Pakistan and mirrors the ugly rift between the terror outfit and the Shehbaz Sharif government.
N J Ravi Chander, Bengaluru
