Women's safety still
significant concern
Recent incidents of a woman jumping off a running train to escape an assaulter and a pregnant woman, who was pushed out of a train following an attempted rape and suffering a miscarriage in the process, are clear indicators that women's safety still remains a serious concern in our country. Women in India are becoming the most vulnerable section as far as their safety and security are concerned. The increasing crimes against women are a jolt to their confidence, to our society, and to our judicial system as a whole.
Reforms in our legal system are the need of the hour, with stringent punishments meted out to the offenders in such a manner that the crimes are treated as non-bailable offenses. If we truly want to end crimes against women, we need to focus on changing the mindset of society.
This involves initiating meaningful conversations, raising awareness, and treating the problem with the seriousness it deserves. By doing so we can prevent more women from falling victim to the vicious cycle of violence. Only then can we create a future where women are not just safe in their homes and communities, but are also free to live without fear, enjoying the rights and respect they deserve.
Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai
Stories in Silver: St Francis Xavier
“Stories in Silver: St. Francis Xavier”, a coffee-table book was released during the XVIII Solemn Exposition of the Sacred Relics of St. Francis Xavier, popularly known by all Goans as “GOYCHO SAIB”. The author, Pantaleao Fernandes, is a well-known personality from Benaulim. I was eagerly waiting to see the book and to know its contents.
A few days back, the author gifted me a copy and no sooner I opened the book, I could simply not close it until I finished reading it. The stories hidden in the silver plates around the Casket “are an unmatched treasure, to unearth the life, and the mission of St Francis Xavier”, writes Bishop Simiao Fernandes in the Foreword. The stories are really so inspirational and mind-blowing, as most of the facts researched and presented by Pantaleao were new to me. And many of them still may be unknown to our people, especially the miracles of resuscitations of the dead. Most of us are only familiar with the miracle of the crab coming from the sea to return his crucifix that had fallen into the sea. The author has really taken great pains to present the thirty-two plates in a story form in his book and inform us so much about our beloved saint. He has made it so interesting that, once one opens his book, one can’t close it until one finishes reading the last episode from the life of St Francis Xavier.
Fernandes also minutely describes the Casket. I have been at the feet of St Francis Xavier umpteen times, but never did I observe it through the eyes of the author of “Stories in Silver”. He has aroused enough curiosity in me that next time I visit Bom Jesu Basilica I will spend more time just admiring the Casket and its rich significance to understand better Our Goycho Saib.
Tony Savio Fernandes, Carmona
Eradication of
TB by 2025
Tuberculosis (TB) has reportedly resurfaced in Navelim with eight active cases confirmed, most of them among migrant labourers residing in rented premises. The disease, though serious, is fully curable. TB continues to pose a public health concern, especially among the economically weaker sections of society. It is a communicable disease as it can spread from person to person, primarily through the air when someone with active TB coughs or speaks. Incidentally Goa has relatively fewer TB cases as compared to some other states in India, with approximately 2,000 cases being reported per year. With the country setting a target to eliminate tuberculosis by 2025, Goa too has initiated steps to achieve the target. A cause of concern is that young people, mainly alcoholics, and those with uncontrolled diabetes are reporting with TB. It may be recalled that Goa has been the first state in the country to replace microscopy with rapid molecular diagnostic tests in 2020.
This has ensured that Goa’s health centers are detecting TB and helping patients to start treatment early. However, Goa, like the rest of the country, is struggling to achieve the ambitious quest to eradicate the disease by the end of 2025. The state’s mortality rate among TB patients has reportedly been relatively higher than the national average for two successive years. Since migrant labourers could be carrying the virus, it is necessary to make health cards mandatory for them which can keep a check on those suffering from the disease.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
The silent death of
workers in India
Lack of teeth in labour laws and a callous attitude towards the implementation of even the existing ones make the lives of the workers the most vulnerable. A contractor allegedly employed a 16-year-old minor boy to clean a water tank at a housing society in Thane. The boy died from an electric shock while doing the job on March 20. This incident laid bare two deadly menaces namely the prevalence of child labour and the deadly working conditions. Often, workers are forced to work without adequate safety equipment. As a result, deaths after falling from scaffolding or while cleaning a septic tank or in a tunnel happen frequently in India. Is this the reward they should get for building our homes, roads, tunnels, and bridges?
Sujit De, Kolkata