21 Oct 2020  |   04:29am IST

Letters to the editor (21 Oct 2020)

Letters to the editor (21 Oct 2020)

Har Ghar Jal or Nal?

A few days back it was announced that Goa is the first State in India to provide tapped water to each and every house. This was achieved under the Centre’s well-intentioned scheme of ‘Har Ghar Jal.’ Since the time the announcement was made with much fanfare by the Centre and State governments there have been believers and disbelievers if really all the houses in Goa have piped water.

While commuting in a local bus I heard two friends discuss about this matter. One friend retorted to the other, “What you are talking must be a pipe dream! Are you sure it is ‘Har Ghar Jal’ and not ‘Har Ghar Mein Nal (tap)? It would be a watershed moment if the news is true. Do you remember that last year we were the first to be declared ODF? Was it Open Defecation Free or Open Defecation is for Free? Just check the news.”

I hope that the guy is wrong and that every house in Goa would get jal through the nal.

Sridhar D’Iyer, Caranzalem


Huge losses by Cooperative Banks

During the recent past it is observed that many Cooperative Banks and Societies operating in the jurisdiction of Goa have incurred huge financial loses to the extent of cancellation of licence for its operation. Such a situation has caused tremendous financial drains to the small time depositors who depend solely on the interest earned for their livelihood.

The Goa Cooperative Societies Act, 2001 and the Rules 2003 framed thereunder and consequent various amendments to the said Act have vested huge powers on the Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS) and its subordinate officers as well as the State Government. 

A Cooperative Bank is managed by a duly elected Board of Directors (BoD) with a dual control of the Reserve Bank of India under the Banking Regulation 1949 and the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 with powers entrusted for licence, regulation and control by issuing directives under the appropriate legal provisions such as maintaining Statutory Liquidity Ratio and Cash Reserve Ratio, sanctioning of loans, fixing rate of interest on deposits and advances as well as the RCS under the Cooperative Societies Act for its day to day financial and administrative management. Recently the Parliament has amended the Banking Regulation Act to give more powers to the RBI for direct supervision of Cooperative Banks. 

The State Government is now further empowered to appoint Directors or an Administrator on super session of the BoD to run the affairs of the Society in case of failure of its management in order to protect its depositors who are mainly from the middle economic class.

Yet the Cooperative Societies have failed in Goa due to financial mismanagement and the latest is the unheard voices of the depositors of the Visionary Co-Op Society as reported in Herald dated 20/10. Hence one can safely conclude that the Cooperative Department of the State Government headed by the RCS adopts a lackadaisical attitude towards performing their duties in their supervision of Cooperative Societies.

Thus the State Government needs to pull up its political socks and step in and take control of the cooperative society by initiating necessary criminal provisions against the BoD to ensure the economic rehabilitation of its depositors during the pandemic. 

Rui Ferreira, Panjim 


Control inflation in onion costs

The onion -- ubiquitous in Indian cooking -- is widely seen as the poor man's vegetable. It is the staple food of the common man and has seen a steep rise in the country in the last few weeks. This is because of hoarding and sale in black. The price-rise has resulted in kitchen grievances for majority of the households, as the price is too high for most of the middle-class families to afford. Onions are needed daily for cooking. It is also needed for making salads and kanda bhajis. Without onions, we are unable to cook our daily meals.

The government must control inflation and must do something to bring down the onion price so as to provide relief to the common man. The price of onions to Rs 80 a kilo is bringing tears to our eyes much before we cut them. 

The onion is a staple vegetable for the poor, indispensable to many Indian cuisines and recipes, from spicy curries to tangy relishes.

Jubel D'Cruz, Mumbai


People flouting Covid-19 norms 

On one side healthcare workers, doctors and nurses are working overtime and getting infected. And on other side people in the name of parties, nightclubs flouting all rules and SOPs. The social distance has been not used. Even in ferry boats, interstate buses loaded and the social distances are not maintained. The State is seeing an increasing number of youngsters getting infected by the virus. And the infected youngsters have to be treated with plasma and other expensive drugs.

This is the violation of the epidemic act which is in force. At a time when the State government has made violation of norms a compoundable offence, officials seemed to be lackadaisical towards implementing the rules. The collectors, health officers and police officials should strictly enforce wearing of masks, maintenance of physical distance and adherence to standard operating procedures.

The State should improve testing facilities, surveillance for early detection of COVID-19 cases, contact tracing and house-to-house surveillance by medical staff.

KG Vilop, Chorao


On children committing suicide

In a shocking incident that took place some days back, a 16-year-old male student, a student of class X in a government school ended his life at Pal-Sattari. It is understood that the student was allegedly disturbed over the fact that his mobile phone, given by his father, had developed a problem and that his parents had expressed financial difficulty in repairing it.

In another tragic incident a 14-year-old boy of class 7 committed suicide at his house in Sada-Vasco on Monday. It is understood that the boy who was scheduled to answer his online exams was reprimanded by his mother for not studying for the exams. It is very disturbing to hear of children resorting to the extreme step on flimsy grounds. In the past news of children committing suicide was unheard of.

One reason for this dangerous trend is probably because of the news about suicides that children of today are subjected to on the national news channels. They could also be influenced by unwanted videos as they surf the net on their smartphone without the knowledge of the parents. Children of today appear not to like a ‘no’ from their parents for any of their demands.

Scolding today’s children could also lead to disastrous consequences. Hence it would be advisable for parents to exercise restraint when it comes to reprimanding their children and also to keep a watch on the sites they visit on the internet. 

Adelmo Fernandes


A cheer for moviegoers

The Karnataka government’s decision to reopen theatres and multiplexes must cheer moviegoers. The government has permitted all cinema halls located outside containment zones to restore operations but not exceeding 50 per cent seating capacity.

It has also directed movie halls to ensure sanitisers at entrance and exit while ensuring social distancing in the waiting area, parking, toilets and elevators. Cinema halls have been closed for an unprecedented seven months.

NJ Ravi Chander, Bengaluru


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