25 May 2023  |   05:39am IST

Letters to the editor ( 25 May 2023)

Incomplete sewage network 

The residents of Panjim and riders expressing displeasure over PWD Minister’s statement that St Inez sewage works won’t be completed before monsoon is unfortunate. The government should know that roads caving in and vehicles falling in pits will rise during monsoon.  The pre-monsoon showers will expose the shoddy work, and cause tremendous hardships to the public. The authorities are lagging behind their own deadlines. As a side consequence, the locals have also been experiencing bumpy rides on the roads, which are constantly being dug up to lay the sewerage works are still unfinished. This leads to accidents and major traffic jams. The story has remained the same and the number of accidents have only increased due to the poor quality of the roads, where sewerage works have been carried out. Pre-monsoon showers will also bear testimony to the shoddy work done by contractors. Some cases of motorist falling into the open unfinished pits were also reported in the recent past.  And it shows how one problem creates a chain of problems.  This shows how the infrastructural design itself lacks vision. The delay in completion of underground sewerage works have been the cause of much inconvenience to the residents in the vicinity.  

K G Vilop, Chorao


Radharao F Gracias 

at his best

It is always a great pleasure to read main article written by Radharao F Gracias. His latest piece ‘The Judicial Omelette’ (O Heraldo, 24 May, 2023) is simply excellent and extremely informative and educative. He has not minced words while dealing with the working of the Indian Judiciary, including the Supreme Court of India, as well as the functioning of the Speaker as adjudicating authority, of course with appropriate examples.

His analysis, arguments and conclusions appear to be logical and to the point. He was able to expose clearly some of the flaws that prevail in the organs that are expected to dispense fair and timely justice. Any one, whether a learned reader or a layman can get the meaning and understanding of his message that is being delivered through this brilliant main article.

I only hope that concerned constitutional authorities get across the substance of his message and draw some constructive lessons in order to improve the prevailing justice system, so that better counsel can prevail to safeguard our constitutional democracy.

Antonio Diniz, Fatorda


Urgently trim trees 

on DB Marg

The entire stretch of Dayanand Bandodkar Marg is adorned by huge trees, some of which may be over a century old. Whilst on this road one gets the feeling of traversing through a boulevard. Even under the hot sun and soaring temperatures, the canopy provides excellent shade. 

But if one carefully observes, many trees have spread their branches far and wide so much so that they reach the other side of the carriageway.  Some live and dried branches are ominously dangling low over one’s head. Some tree trunks are dangerously protruding towards the sides of the road and larger vehicles need to swerve towards the middle of the road to avoid hitting the trees.  

We have already had many cases, over the years where fatalities have taken place when trees or branches have crashed on to a moving or stationery vehicles.  In fact when it blows heavily, and more so in a storm, it is scary moving under these huge trees and their branches, especially from the Panjim market to the Kala Academy stretch. 

We all love trees and the beautiful canopy on this road.  But shouldn’t there be a scientific trimming of all dangerous and imbalanced trees?  The Forest department should undertake an inspection and urgently carry out the exercise to safeguard human lives.

Alwyn M D’Sa, Miramar


President should inaugurate Parliament

That Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the new Parliament building instead of President Droupadi Murmu is fundamentally and constitutionally wrong, and an insult to her. This only explains the tyranny and totalitarianism of the Modi government. Is it not appropriate that as the First Citizen of the country President Murmu inaugurates the new Parliament building? Article 79 defines the Constitution of Parliament: “There shall be a Parliament for the Union which shall consist of the President and two Houses to be known respectively as the Council of States and the House of the People.” So, when the Constitution itself provides that the Parliament consists of the President of India and the two Houses of the apex legislature, how is that the Prime Minister, who doesn’t form part of the constitutionally ordained definition of what constitutes Parliament, can inaugurate the new Parliament building? Also, deliberately the inauguration date of the new Parliament building has been fixed on the birth anniversary of Savarkar on May 28, totally disregarding the founding fathers of our Constitution. Narendra Modi, first performing the bhoomi puja, and now inaugurating the new Parliament building, is nothing short of the desecration of the institution of Parliament.

Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai

AI in Education 

I am aware that it’s rather late, but I just wanted to thank the writer - Siddharth Desai for making a strong and compelling argument on why integrating AI technologies into our education system is the urgent need of the hour. For far too long, we have lived and grown in a system that believes that the only way to succeed or excel further in life, is by rote learning and vomiting out concepts, theories or knowledge without in the first place understanding, how the same applies to us in real life situations. 

As a result, almost every fresher, upon graduation is faced with the same struggle of how to apply these concepts in real-life work settings as the reality is that once you put your foot into the corporate world, you start to understand the realities of life and in the process, learn a lot of new skill-sets related to your job and industry which are absent in the pedagogy or subject matter taught in formal education. 

It is very sad to note that we are all churned through the same system, and force the next generations to get churned the same way. 

I am hopeful and positive that the advent of Generative AI models, will be a great stride in bringing about the reforms desperately needed in the education sector, thus paving the way for more practical/skill oriented learning rather than theoretical learning.

Bryce D’Souza, 

Sharjah


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