Rare celestial spectacle
Monday, April 8, will be a red-letter day as far as celestial events are concerned. The longest solar eclipses in the last 50 years will occur on this day. For 7.5 minutes the sky will remain dark. However, the eclipse will be visible only from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and some parts of North America. People in India will not be able to witness this celestial event.
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This year’s celestial event is rare, hence the excitement to witness the spectacle is palpable. It is learnt that over a million people will gather at the Niagara Falls in Canada to watch the event. This total solar eclipse will be special for various reasons. On this day, the moon will be closest to the sun. Hence, it is obvious that the moon will look much bigger than usual. This will make the view more beautiful. Solar eclipses occur about every 18 months somewhere on the earth.
However the path of totality is relatively narrow, and any given location will only experience a total eclipse every few hundred years. The 2024 total eclipse will reportedly last the longest in Mexico and Texas, with some locations along the center-line seeing totality for over 4 minutes and 25 seconds. According to NASA, on an average, about 375 years elapse between the appearances of two total solar eclipses from the same place.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Water shortage in Siolim
Our village of Siolim is facing water shortage for the past week till date the water supply has not improved. The water supplied has low pressure and there is hardly any storage happening in our overhead tanks.
What is surprising is that the TCP is in a sprint to give approval for multi- dwelling projects without taking into consideration the water demands. Is there any audit done to access the village shortage demands for all types of amenities? This should be the duty of the Town and Country Planning Deptartment in consultation with the Panchayats to check that the water, electricity and motorable roads are available in the village. For Electricity nowadays, the developers provide generators, the roads for these projects even tow metres the TCP grants permission on provisional future expansions. But what about the water which is a big problem. the water in most of the village wells is not fit for consumption and the water tankers that supply water to consumers are not checked by the authorities. There is hardly any check by the authorities or surprise raids to confirm whether the water is fit for consumption. I have not read or seen any raids conducted by the WRD to check on the quality of water supplied by the approved tankers? ED, CBI and Income Tax officials have been very proactive in raids and to a large extent the Traffic Police have been active on the roads. Will the WRD and PWD present to the Goan public about their all-round year performance towards the safety of water consumption to the people of Goa? It is not enough to manipulate the survey that we have 100% water supply but in reality during the month of March to May there is hardly sufficient water in our taps. Are the water tankers given business-based on the commission bonds to the officials? Will the PWD check on this since there has been many times damages to the water line due to the electricity cabling and maybe the main line is getting choked due to the mud particles entering the line and reducing the pressure in the line?
Gregory E Dsouza, Siolim
Extortionist officers must be dealt with sternly
This has reference to the report ‘Govt officers on election duty, caught from extortion duty’ on O Heraldo edition dated April 4, 2024.
Surely, this is a disgusting scenario, government officers on election duty posing as IT officials, caught extorting money from the public. It beats one’s imagination to what extent one could go in order to make money and amass wealth. The recent case according to your news report, two government officers managed to extort Rs 16 lakh from two tourists from Delhi, enroute to Panjim from the airport.
It seems like people have lost their conscience, their morality, their ethics, everything in their pursuit for money. Needless to say, the officers concerned should be dealt with strictly. Similarly, other cases of extortion in whatever form, must be dealt with severely in order to deter others from committing such acts. But will that happen, that is the question. Do we have the will to root out such malpractices from society? You have their answer!
Melville X D’Souza, Mumbai
Health is wealth
World Health Day is celebrated on April 7 every year to emphasise the need to lead a healthy and fulfilling life. Several activities are planned at different places to celebrate this day. It is the World Health Organization (WHO) that came up with the idea of celebrating World
Health Day.
World Health Day was for the first time celebrated worldwide in 1948. It is universal: “Health is Wealth”. It is the utmost important aspect of our existence which can’t be denied. We all know various types of diseases prevail in the environment due to which people suffer.
World Health Day focuses on and raises awareness around health issues that affect people all over the world. It is necessary to make people aware that health is wealth. We need to recognise that well-being is an essential factor in our lives. Keeping ourselves fit and safe is significant. It will help spread awareness by imparting information about health and fitness to the public, and World Health Day is instrumental in raising people’s consciousness. The day brings the public’s attention to the relevance of global health. World Health Organisation plans a theme every year, based on which different activities for World Health Day are held. It targets all health-related problems as a day observed at both international and national levels. People should concentrate on eliminating unhealthy habits and behaviour and shift towards a healthier life, especially those who consume medicines for hypertension or other illnesses. We should look at our reformed areas and reflect on how well our well-being can be and can lead our loved ones and us to a well-behaved, safe life. So a big element of Health Day is a balanced lifestyle and a healthier world around you. The theme this year for World Health Day is “My Health, My Right.”
Jubel D’Cruz, Mumbai
