Congratulations to the ISRO team
It was indeed a historic day for the people of this country as Chandrayaan-3 finally went on to land successfully on the surface of the moon at 6.04 pm on Wednesday, propelling India to an exclusive club of four and making it the first country to land on the uncharted surface.
The whole credit for the above historic feat should fully go to the ISRO team and not for politicians because the team of ISRO scientists have gone to achieve this impossible task through their own hard work, relentless efforts and sacrifices in our country.
So, let's not get distracted but let us learn to give full credit to the right people in our country. Yes, let's take a big bow and congratulate the entire ISRO team for making India really proud with this latest historic feat.
Jerry Fernandes, Saligao
Sky isn’t the limit
“Not failure, but low aim is crime” it is said. When India's Chandrayaan-2 came tantalisingly close to finish, but could not deliver the coup de grace, in July 2019, the entire country seemed to suggest the same to the then Chairman of the Indian Space Research organization (ISRO)) K Sivan. ISRO scientists are special; they know the ways and means of handling success as well as failure. In science, success is honed through rounds of permutations and combinations. So, when the Vikram lander descended on the lunar surface on July 23 to make Chandrayaan-3 a roaring success, the whole country was ecstatic.
So were all scientists associated with the moon mission including Sivan and the incumbent ISRO chairman S Somanath. As Somanath has said ISRO can only look ahead after the stupendous feat. It is planning its ambitious “Gaganyaan” as scheduled early next year. Meanwhile, ISRO's solar mission “Aditya” is expected to take off quite soon.
The ISRO-JAXA lunar exploration mission, with Japan, should follow the “Gaganyaan”. Each mission has its own aim. ISRO has grown by leaps and bounds over the last three decades, and it is now India's pride as evidenced by a flurry of congratulatory messages from world leaders following the success of Chandrayaan-3.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
The Moon is not far away
The success of Chandrayaan-3 in soft landing on the moon is a great achievement and proud moment for all Indians. India is the 4th nation in the world to accomplish the mission after the superpowers USA, erstwhile Soviet Union and China.
After the unsuccessful attempt of Chandrayaan -2, the space scientists at Indian Space Research Organisation worked very hard and put India on the world map. We need to heartily congratulate and give all credit to our space scientists for this great achievement and not to any politician who are generally quick in stealing the limelight.
Rodney de Souza, Assagao
Bird population on the decline
Birds are facing a decline in their population due to various factors such as exposed electrical wires, mobile towers, and poor management by authorities in other parts of the world. In India, one of the primary reasons for bird fatalities is exposed electrical wires that can cause fatal injuries to birds due to high voltage and lack of protective measures. Additionally, mobile towers pose a significant threat to birds flying at high altitudes as they can collide with the high-voltage machinery near these towers. Developed countries such as Germany and the Netherlands have implemented underground electrical systems, significantly reducing the risk of harm to any living creature.
India must also take strict action against exposed wires, internet towers, and poor management by authorities. We must collectively work towards safeguarding nature’s beauty and preserving the existence of these magnificent creatures. We can also help by keeping small pots filled with water outside our homes and leaving out some grains daily on our terraces for birds flying long distances, especially during summer when the heat is unbearable. We can also keep pots for them to build small nests which will help in increasing the bird population.
Jubel D'Cruz, Mumbai
Outsourcing players needs to be avoided
Goa will be hosting the 37th edition of the National Games being India’s homespun Olympic style multi-sport event in October 2023 where athletes from across the country will compete in over 40 disciplines. Having unveiled the mascot with much pomp and splendor, the sporting extravaganza will be spread over 16 days from October 25 to November 9 at the GMC Athletic stadium, Bambolim. With barely two months to go for the take off of the prestigious event, the government is attempting to bulldoze players from Khelo India to represent the State to raise the medal tally thereby making a mockery of the abundantly available local talent pool.
The Khelo India Centre at Campal is designed to groom local talent with an explicit understanding that no outstation participant will represent Goa at the national games. There are other avenues to boost the medal tally by inclusion of other games Goans are proficient, a case in point being chess where the state has been making the right moves with our homegrown chess prodigy Ethan Vaz, Bhakti Kulkarni, Beverely Mendonca, Joshua Telles, to name a few, all budding chess artists and future prospective Grand Masters (GMs), who are already representing Goa at the national level and hopefully catapult the state at the international arena too. In the fitness of things, outsourcing players need to be avoided at all costs as the government allocates funds for nurturing local talent. Coinciding with the Chandrayan-3 lunar success R Pragyanand India’s youngest chess player is locked in a battle of wits in an ongoing match with World's No.1 Magnus Carlsen.
Everette Assis Telles, Margao
Toeing the line of ruling dispensation is no good
Instead of paying a soothing constructive visit to Manipur which is closer to Delhi, the President of India Draupadi Murmu is currently visiting Goa which is very far away comparatively.
The primary duty of the President is to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the Law of India as made part of her oath (Article 60 of the Indian Constitution). Neither she visited Manipur nor commented anything on the severe atrocities there which is not acceptable from a person of her caliber.
The BJP is famous for appointing political appointees for name sake to dictate terms and conditions just to suit their agenda. And these persons are then asked to toe the line of the ruling dispensation even when it shames the person in particular and shows India in a very poor light.
The President’s visit to Goa apart from other things has given rise to lots of traffics snarls and created inconvenience due to the re-routing of the traffic on the already pot holed and uneven road surfaces around Panjim which could have been avoided.
Mathew Julius D’Costa, Curchorem