Your newspaper often highlights animal related problems, the latest being the starting of a goshala for abandoned bovines. It is going to be an extremely expensive affair if one considers the body weight of each animal. One will have to feed, water and medicate it as per body weight of the animal. Anything less becomes a level of cruelty to the animal. Being a veterinarian, I have had many owners of milch animals approach me to help them get rid of their animals once milk production stops. Looking after the animal becomes very difficult and expensive. In other countries, animal husbandry practices recommend slaughter for meat purposes. Quality of meat also depends on the age of slaughter so animals, specially reared for beef purposes are slaughtered at the age of three years for tender produce. The recent order of the HC to slaughter animals above twelve years follows the law, but the meat quality is ignored. I do hope the hon animal husbandry minister and the department would work to produce good beef within Goa by amending Goa State laws as it would improve the economy of the state in a big way.
Dr Carmo Costa – Viegas, Assolna
—
Love for statues
Of late many of our famous leaders have fallen in love with statues, some of their own, some of animals like lions and elephants and others of great national leaders who fought for independence and for social justice.
It’s good to know that we still remember our great leaders but instead of making use of their names for political ends and spending public money to build huge statues it would be more apt to use the same money to eradicate illiteracy, poverty and practice the teachings of these great visionaries in our everyday lives.
Matias Lobo, Oman
Agony of Goans
As a child I remember that, long before I understood that Konkani was a language, my parents enrolled my younger sister in our local parish school where Konkani was taught and was spoken as a means of communication. Soon our Churches switched preaching from Latin to Konkani. Not forgetting our beloved Tiatrists who always staged their dramas in Konkani. However, in the community that I grew up, Konkani was considered to be the language of the underdogs. All this time Konkani was written and read in the Roman script. For people to accept this language in any other script other than Roman must have been really agonizing and a big sacrifice for the love of a mother tongue in the same way people loved Goa and had accepted the so called “Goa’s Liberation”.
I remember what my father had to go through at the age of sixty-five to learn a new script just so he could read new Konkani publications. All this artificial suffering was unleashed by a few disgruntled people whose love for Goa exists only as far the Indian rupee. Hatred of our culture by other Indians is all around us for those who care to see, but faithful Goans keep singing Indian praises. What a tragedy that we are living in denial.
Mario Fernandes, USA
Cops misuse powers
In India, policemen misuse their powers and take the law into their own hands just because they are supported by thugs and corrupt politicians.
What is however a matter of concern, is that the number of black sheep in the police force is a lot more in comparison to other other professions. The police in India have gained a very bad name on account of their rude, selfish and uncouth behaviour on various occasions.
Jubel D’Cruz, Mumbai
Calangute spat
There is an ongoing spat between certain representatives in the Calangute area. It has come to a point where opposition or acceptance of any action depends on the other person’s position. If one rep says the other says no, even though the previous response was yes!!
This continuing tussle for supremacy has the normal citizen baffled and at a loss. Somebody is encroaching on someone else’s jurisdiction. Are local works within the purview of an MLA? Isn’t an MLA responsible for the overall constituency?
If laws are being broken and boundaries being overstepped then appropriate action must be taken. Calangute had myriad problems that haven’t been attended to for months. Time to get the act together.
Ryan Lobo, Calangute
