SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 2024
Bakery inspection a must
The first sound you hear in the morning is of the breadman’s horn that brings Goan pao and poie for breakfast. However, there are complaints that some bakeries in the villages do not work in clean and hygienic conditions.
During the erstwhile regime, health and sanitary inspectors inspected the bakeries to see whether the mats on which dough balls are spread were clean; whether the workers wore caps to cover their hair and whether the baskets in which breadmen carried bread for sale were clean. We don’t hear of such inspections now. Further, it is very important that the breadmen who carry bread for sale, wear a face mask. Here again we see that some don’t wear a mask since they say they feel uncomfortable. You can imagine how many families who buy bread can get the virus if the breadman is infected.
In this situation, the authorities must find time and inspect the bakeries as they are all the more necessary and important now in order to halt the spread of the virus.
Rodney de Souza, Assagao
Need for community prayers
There is lots of power in prayer. But there is more power in community prayers. There is more power in prayer than in an atom bomb. We can imagine the power of community prayer. The situation of COVID-19 is worsening in India and only God can help us. Hence we should open our religious places and start community prayers. Many of our religious places are big enough to accommodate at least 150 people keeping in mind social distancing. The virus can be destroyed in no time if we open our religious places to community prayers. Many people are scared of opening their religious places for community prayers as it will increase the spread of the virus. Why are we getting scared of getting the virus or even dying of it? How long do we want to live on earth? We have come from God and are going back to God and if we are scared of opening our religious places for community prayers for fear of sickness and death we need to examine our relationship with our God. Jesus said ‘Seek first the kingdom of God and what he wants you to do and everything will be given to you.’ God will definitely protect us and hear our prayers if we come to pray as a community asking for mercy on his people.
Avelino de Sa, Miramar
Basic structure doctrine
The death of Swami Keshavanada Bharati earlier this month gave us a reminder and brought to light the milestone judgment of the Supreme Court in the famous case of Keshavanada Brarati vs State of Kerala in 1973. The case was fought by none other than the all-time great lawyer Nani Palkhivala who convinced Swami Keshavanada to go to the Supreme Court not only to safe guard his own fundamental rights but to save democracy in India. The Kerala government under the Land Reforms Act was taking away the temple mutt land and take it under its administration. Earlier in the Golaknath vs State of Punjab 1967 the SC had held that the fundamental rights were sacrosanct and could not be curtailed or amended.
In the Bharti case a Constitutional Bench of 13 judges in a verdict of 7 to 6 held that that Parliament had a limited right to amend any part of the Constitution but could not alter the basic structure. There was a constant tussle between the legislature and the judiciary for supremacy as to who should have the last word. Swami K Bharti lost his cause, but won for democracy wherein the SC held that the Constitution cannot be made very rigid, that Parliament can amend the fundamental rights but cannot alter their basic structure, in fact the Supreme Court widened the scope of the fundamental rights. The SC also held that Parliament cannot enact laws to stop judicial review.
Not happy with the judgement Indira Gandhi then appointed Justice A N Ray as the Chief Justice superseding three senior most judges in the line of seniority recalled as the blackest day in democracy. The result of majoritarian governments appointing malleable judges. Starting with Mahatma Gandhi Indian lawyers have player a stellar role in protecting our civil liberties at present the torch bearer being Prashant Bushan.
Agnelo Furtado, Chinchinim
Shattered glass ceilings
Women defence personnel are all set to go above and beyond with the IAF assigning a woman fighter pilot to fly the nuclear capable multirole Rafale jet. The Indian Navy is also deploying two women officers to fly helicopters from front line warships. These measures signify a new dawn in the struggle to ensure gender equality in our 1.5 million strong armed forces and a step forward to grant permanent commission to women. Another glass ceiling shattered, proving that women are equal to men, if not better.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Capitalise on Goa Vision: 2035 document
CM Sawant had announced that he has revived the Goa Vision: 2035 plan on Liberation Day 2019 and reiterated the statement this Independence Day. This groundbreaking roadmap, with its focus on citizens’ happiness as a marker, has limitless possibilities for the environment, our culture, e-governance, education, health, farming and Goa must capitalise on it without delay.
Kudos to the concerned citizens that participated in the webinar titled, ‘Where are you going, my Goa?’ The panel, when they convene next, should focus on the countries that have successfully launched similar initiatives: ecological and cultural powerhouses like Bhutan and New Zealand. On being hailed for her stellar work to include empathy in governance, Jacinda Ardern, the brilliant young Prime Minister of NZ had said, “I try to view it through the lens of children, of people and the most basic concept and idea of fairness. As a minister, if you want to spend money, you have to prove how you’re going to use it to improve intergenerational wellbeing. We’re hoping to embed on what the public is actually asking for: to improve on societal wellbeing, not just our economic problem.”
Chris Fernandes,
Miramar
Social distancing in buses
It has been noticed that social distancing is no more followed in buses run by the Kadamba Transport Corporation, especially in its special fleet catering to Secretariat staff in Porvorim and other offices and shuttle buses. A video on social-media shows how the standing passengers are pushing and jostling one another. It is absolutely impossible to maintain social distancing in such circumstances. Hence to maintain social distancing in the buses it would be fit to run them at half capacity. If two or three passengers are allowed on each seat, it becomes impossible to maintain social distancing. Only one passenger should be allowed per seat. No standing passengers should be allowed in the buses. More KTCL buses should be run on busy routes to deal with the rush of passengers. The State-run corporation may not be able to make profit by following this protocol. But then the government needs to do everything possible to stop the proliferation of the novel coronavirus which is spreading at an alarming rate. Private buses, which have started plying also need to follow the same protocol and SOP for the moment.
Adelmo Fernandes,
Vasco
