Your editorial, “A journey ends, another should begin” was interesting reading as it is borne by all facts. Being part of the team during this solemn exposition of the sacred relics of St. Francis Xavier, have personally seen, how things were handled in all spheres, whether it was the ushering by the volunteers both young and old, assistance by the wheel-chair students who were happily and humbly serving the needful assisted by the police in uniform.
Besides, there were different people involved in helping the church authorities both at the Se Cathedral and Bom Jesus Basilica, who handled everything patiently and with love, the glow of which could be seen on their faces whilst rendering their services.
As you mentioned in your editorial, that hardly any lakhs of people complained about anything when they stood in long queues, but few complained. The ups and downs are there for all occasions and one cannot satisfy everyone. But my praises goes out to all devotees of all walks of life who came to visit this patron saint of Goa, known popularly, as Goemcho Saib.
Kudos to the organizers both the Church and the Government, for work well accomplished during these 44 days of exposition, and as you rightly said, it’s now the turn of us Catholics and Christians in Goa to prove that we Goans will toil to keep our faith and unity alive, as we look forward for soon we will have our own Goan brother, Blessed Joseph Vaz, who will be canonised by Pope Francis in Sri Lanka on 14th January and declare him as Saint Joseph Vaz.
John Rebello, Old Goa
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Exposition and conversion
The Exposition of the relics of St. Francis Xavier has come to an end. Thousands of people have walked the grounds of Se Cathedral to venerate the Saint. The police said they have no record of the count of people who visited but St. Francis surely has the count and will pray and bless all those who came to pay homage. Walking the 17 lines in the pandal on two occasions, I could pray for all my needs and for peace in the World.
From my childhood I saw mostly Hindus come for the exposition but this time I could see so many Muslims who came for the exposition. Nobody has told them to come but something in their heart told them about Xavier and they came to pay their homage to Goechom Saib.
We do not need a Ghar Vapasi or conversion. What we need is a change of heart, a heart that loves and serves the downtrodden, poor and the lowly. A real conversion is when we feel for the pain in our other brethren and when our hearts long for peace. That is what the world is looking for. As Fr. Alfred rightly said it was God’s miracle that the Exposition concluded very peacefully.
Maria Gracias, Agassaim
Ribandar accident
The tragic road accident which took place along the Patto-Ribandar causeway involving two scooters and a car and which claimed four lives should serve as a grim reminder of the perils road-users face while crossing this causeway. It is seen that vehicles tend to speed along this road as it is a straight one and there are no speed–breakers along the road. In order to make this stretch of the road safe for road-users, certain steps need to be taken.
Speed-breakers or rumblers need to be put up along this road. Overtaking by vehicles should be prohibited as has been done on the Zuari bridge. The authorities should notify the speed limit that is to be allowed on this road which should be 30 km/hr. It is observed that only a small portion of the retaining wall has been built. The causeway needs to have a retaining wall along the entire stretch and on both sides of the road. All heavy traffic needs to be diverted along the Kadamba Plateau. If need be the authorities concerned could also declare this road as “Accident Prone Zone”. Because of the rise in the vehicle population this stretch of the road is always crowded hence necessary steps should be taken to make the road safe.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Goodbye Dr. Raut
Dr. Ramamurthy Raut Dessai died peacefully on 2 Jan, 2015. He was the pioneer of Cardiothoracic Surgery in Goa. An outstanding student, he obtained his MCh (Thoracic) with flying colours as a student of the prestigious KEM Hospital, Mumbai. When the whole world beckoned him he decided to return to his beloved Goa.
Those were the days when I had acquired my first Echo 2D machine and the Salgaonkar Hospital had started a Cardiothoracic Unit at Chicalim. With the feedback I gave and with his own acumen and experience, despite limited facilities, he performed with great success surgeries like open and closed mitral commisurotomies, PDA ligations, ASD and VSD closures, Coarctation repair and Valve Replacements. He was so devoted to his patients that he spent night after night at their bedside to provide them the best post-operative care.
Dr. Raut is credited for having successfully inserted the first permanent pacemaker in Goa in a patient with complete heart block. In his death, Goa has lost one of its most distinguished doctors, a pioneer of sorts who always endeavoured to explore new territories and open up a way for others to follow.
We mourn the tragic death of this stalwart and offer our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.
Dr. Francisco Colaco, Margao
