Government must implement HC order
The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Wednesday has adjourned the hearing in the contempt petition filed by the Goa Foundation and the State government’s miscellaneous civil application seeking extension of time to notify Tiger Reserve to Monday, November 6.
After the State government failed to notify the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and the surrounding area as a Tiger Reserve within the three-month deadline set by the High Court in July this year, the Goa Foundation had on Monday approached the High Court seeking a direction to issue notices for Contempt.
Well, what message is the Goa government really trying to convey for the people of this State by still defying the High Court’s Order of July 24 and dragging this on the same matter seeking for extension of time to notify Tiger Reserve? And that too, despite of not getting any stay even from the Supreme Court of India over this same matter till date?
If the government is serious in protecting Goa’s forests and rivers then it should immediately implement the July 24, 2023 High Court order without dragging this same matter any further in the Courts and officially notify the area around the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve at the very earliest to really protect/save wildlife in the true sense in Goa.
Jerry Fernandes, Saligao
Burglaries on the rise in schools
It is learnt that robberies in schools in South Goa are occurring on a regular basis. In the fifth such incident to occur in a single month, a high school in Betalbatim has fallen victim to burglary. The thieves reportedly entered the school premises after breaking the door lock and made off with the school’s CCTV Digital Video Recorder (DVR) and Rs 70,000 from the school office. Police suspect that the same gang may be responsible for all the five theft cases in South Goa in the past month. It must be said that no place is safe from thefts. Now not even schools are spared by burglars. If thieves are robbing even the CCTV DVR, then installing the CCTV camera will not serve any purpose. It would be in the fitness of things for the school authorities to engage the services of security guards in order to keep a watch on the school premises during the night. It would be advisable to keep minimal cash in the school office after school closes for the day. The CCTV Digital Video Recorder needs to be installed at a place which is out of reach of the thieves. Police should apprehend the members of the gang involved in such burglaries. Night patrolling by police near schools needs to be intensified, especially during weekends and school holidays.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Flouting every norm in the book
Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral has asserted that until the Coastal Zone Management Plan 2019 is ready, environmental clearances will continue to be granted for all proposed public and private structures along Goa’s coast based on CZMP 2011.
Though the NCZMA has directed to keep permissions in abeyance for new coastal structures till the new CZMP 2019 is ready, the minister has dismissed it by stating that these are ‘merely’ internal file notings and that the Goa government has received no such orders. It almost borders on disbelief that the Centre has not instructed the Goa government about this crucial subject. It is as clear as day that the Centre and Sawant sarkar are working in tandem to ravage whatever is left of the state to favour the builder lobby which is looking forward to minting tonnes of money at the cost of Goa’s land and environment.
Every right thinking individual whose heart beats for Goa needs to counter this brazen flouting of laws tooth and nail. We need to save Goa from such rapacious politicians.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Are vaccines at room temperature stable?
To delve into the effects and side effects that vaccination for Covid-19 has had on those who have been inoculated, it would be prudent to assess the facts on those who have received it. It is known that the vials of vaccines were kept at sub-zero temperatures as otherwise it would have lost its properties.
It is also known that water at zero degree is a solid, ice, at room temperature water that is liquid and when heated to hundred degree centigrade it is water vapour. Also perishables are refrigerated to increase shelf life and to preserve for a longer time. If this yardstick is used relative to vaccines, it would mean that at sub-zero temperature the vaccine properties are stable and after it is heated to room temperature and then inoculated into recipients, then it would be presumed that the vaccines had deteriorated after inoculation and over a period of time in the bloodstream of the recipient ti could have led to complications of having become unstable at body temperature and led to side effects. So, the fact that vaccinated persons have suffered adverse consequences should not be ruled out and it has been observed in many recipients of vaccines that severe to a little milder side effects have been the norm.
Elvidio Miranda, Panjim
Fitting tribute to the ‘Little Master’
The unveiling of Sachin Tendulkar’s life-size statue at the Wankhede Stadium is a fitting tribute to the ‘Little Master’. An emotional Tendulkar, accompanied by his wife Anjali and daughter Sara, watched the statue being unveiled in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, MCA chief Sharad Pawar, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah and Vice-president Rajeev Shukla. ‘The God of Cricket’ now joins an illustrious list of Indian cricketers like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Sourav Ganguly, who have statues dedicated to them.
N J Ravi Chander, Bengaluru
