Of year end and
road accidents
We are at the fag-end of 2024 and it has been a year of ups and downs for all and sundry. But then, the year need not end in a tragedy for self and near and dear ones. From past experience, it is seen that in Goa there is a rise in the number of road accidents during the year-end, many of them ending in fatality.
There is a tremendous increase in the floating population with the arrival of tourists during the festive season. These tourists either travel in their own vehicles or hire a rent-a-car or rent-a-bike.
This increases the vehicle density on the roads. In the state, late-night partying becomes the order of the day. Drunken driving is a major reason for road accidents. Other reasons include fatigue, speeding, distraction, breaking traffic rules, ignoring red traffic signals, poor road conditions, human error, etc.
While only a quarter of driving is done at night, statistics show 50% of traffic deaths occur at night. Low light conditions make it harder to judge distances and react to high-beam lights and unexpected obstacles. But then in a happening-state like Goa where late-night partying is the order of the day, night-driving can hardly be avoided. Hordes of visitors will be heading to Goa to usher in the New Year. It is for each individual to drive safely and avoid accidents. We should arrive safely into the New Year.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
India lost two artistes
India lost two talented and famous artistes in just week. First we lost tabla maestro Zakir Hussain and then film producer Shyam Benegal passed away on Monday. The two contributed to art and culture and made India proud.
Zakir Hussain acted in the film SAAJ in 1997 with Shabana Azmi. His famous ad “waah ustaad- waah Taj boliye” on Tata Tea. On the other hand, Shyam Benegal gave best movies to India and the world.
His art movies though slow in action depicted reality of life as they were based on day-to-day life of struggle of the common man. Ankur and Manthan gave Indian cinema name and fame. His art films gave many artists like Smita Patil, Nasiruddin Shah, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and others to portray their talent on screen.
The true life on the screen was depicted by Shyam Benegal with his talent and ability to showcase the same to society at large. We will miss two classic talents in the Indian art and culture.
Raju Ramamurthy, Vasco
Tourist boats should
be strictly monitored
A boat ride for a family from Khed, Maharashtra, turned tragic on Christmas day as one of it’s members drowned after a local tourist vessel that was carrying them with more than 20 passengers capsized almost 60 metres away from the coastline of Calangute beach on Wednesday morning.
According to lifesavers, they rescued over 20 passengers aged between 6 and 65 years.
Many boat operators often flout guidelines and safety norms by overloading their vessels with domestic tourists even when the sea is rough.
The government should draw a serious lesson from the above incident and start monitoring the movement of every boat that is used for water sports activity in the state.
Those violating the law by putting the lives of people at risk on them rough seas should be penalised and put in place.
Jerry Fernandes, Saligao
Sports ministry on
damage control mode
The government is patching up with Manu Bhaker as a face saving exercise. As if playing with the emotions of sports personalities has been set as a norm, the treatment meted out to Manu Bhaker by denying her name in the list of the highest sporting honour of Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award is the height of unprofessional attitude on the part of the government now.
Manu who created history at the Paris Olympics earlier this year by clinching back-to-back bronze for India has been the most glorious moment for the nation at that time in a single Olympics since India attained independence.
Her name should have figured with more dignity in the list of awardees instead became a row at the moment. The sports ministry is reconsidering using executive powers to nominate her shows as to how the selection panel functions while identifying the deserving ones. The same move was applied to cricketer Mohammed Shami by conferring Arjuna award considered only after a special request made by the BCCI on the earlier occasion.
A P Thiruvadi, Chennai
Tsunami memories
are really painful
Christmas year-end holidays are a time of joy for many families around the world. However, this year’s X-mas festivities will also be tinged with great sadness for many, as, on December 26, the world observed the 20th anniversary of the devastating Tsunami.
Twenty years on, affected communities are still picking up the pieces of their lives and livelihoods. It was one of history’s worst humanitarian disasters and it reshaped the global response to humanitarian crises. Memories of the Tsunami are painful, as they prompt us to reflect on the steps we have taken to mitigate and save human lives and build resilience to disasters of this scale in future. The lessons learned since 2004 serve not only to honour those who succumbed to the catastrophe worldwide, but also remind us of the shared vulnerability and interdependence of our societies.
Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai