School children should be transported safely
Not all schools have the provision of bus service to transport the students to and from the respective schools every day. Working parents who may not have the time to ferry their children depend on the services of private transport operators.
The service of vehicles like vans, private cars, rickshaws and even motorcycle taxis are being used for transportation of school children. The question that arises is whether private transport operators follow all safety norms while transporting the students.
The rickshaw owners could be carrying more than the prescribed number of students in order to earn more on the trip. Green Goa Foundation (GGF) has reportedly demanded stringent action against the owners of private vehicles transporting children to school without adhering to safety norms.
The transportation of school children is governed by Goa Motor Vehicles (Regulations for School Buses) Rules, 2015. The vehicles need to have a valid permit. Several private vehicles are seen transporting school children in vehicles older than 15 years, which is against the law.
The rules also mandate the vehicle to be fitted with a speed governor. Students are forced to sit in cramped spaces. At times even parents are seen transporting more than two children on their two-wheeler thereby putting their lives in danger.
Incidentally, schools have no role to play as far as the private vehicles ferrying children are concerned. Vehicles transporting students need to be checked for drunken driving especially in the afternoon when schools close down.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Unplanned development bound to fall flat
Glittering shopping malls, high-end multiplexes, sky-kissing towers, “enviable rate of economic growth,” gigantic statues or Bullet trains are not the passport to “development”.
Unless basic infrastructure is awarded the topmost priority, all rhetoric of “progress” is bound
to fall flat and get inundated under water following a few hours of shower.
Else, Delhi, Mumbai (and other overhyped cities) will continue to get paralysed annually and these drastic failures will be required to get swept under the carpet of “resilience”!
The sponsors of “Smart Cities” should learn to be a bit ashamed of witnessing the pathetic infrastructure of all the “glamorous” metropolises of India which turns into an ocean of sorts following a few hours of shower. Less said about the rural areas of India the better where even a dispensary often cannot be found within a radius of 10 km!
It is nothing but scandalous that instead of eradicating the woes of the rural folks or improving the infrastructure of the traditional cities (even here also the greatest sufferers are the lowest strata of the society whose shanties get flooded); all focus, energy, resource and time are being allotted to the “Smart Cities” which would be the home of only the creamiest layer of the society.
This class-based mindset of pampering the nouveau riche and sponsoring all-things glamorous are being witnessed in case of urban planning also which is not only extremely unfortunate; but inhuman and unequal as well.
Kajal Chatterjee, Kolkatta
Senior politicians must make way for young blood
Even though politicians say that age is just a number and that they can continue to serve as long as they want, it is not fair on their part to cling on to power. They should give way for younger people.
There is always a chance of emotions taking over your intellect. Actions cannot keep pace with thoughts. The government should fix 76 to 80 years as retirement age in politics. It is absolutely not right for any politician to enjoy so many comforts at the tax payer’s expense even into their 80s and 90s. I doubt whether this will ever happen in Indian politics.
I wish all the first time MPs a great innings in the 18th Lok Sabha. Our young nation comprising of maximum young voters looks upto them and politics requires young blood.
I hope and pray that there will come a time when we will have atleast 50 percent of our MPs below the age of 60.
While we insist on injecting young blood on other professions, our system fails to set any benchmarks in politics. Why is that so?
Diomedes Pereira, Corlim
Gambhir should aim at man management
The selection of Gautam Gambhir as Indian men’s cricket’s head coach has elicited mixed reactions. Had India failed to win the T20 World Cup, Gambhir would have been welcomed with open arms by the much opinionated Indian cricket fans because nothing succeeds like success and failure is an orphan.
There were shrill cries from some quarters that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli hung their boots from T20 because that was one pre–condition set by Gambhir to accept the BCCI offer. Be that as it may, the outspoken Gambhir has an uphill task of keeping the side together because an Indian coach’s job is nothing more than astute man–management, a job well done by Dravid.
The former Indian opener should do well not to rub senior members of the team like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli the wrong way. During the tenures of both Ravi Shastri and Dravid, infighting and groupism in the team was literally unheard of, and the result is there to see.
Any sign of dissent or disharmony in the team needs to be nipped in the bud. Senior members have to be supported and juniors will have to be encouraged come what may. Gambhir has to ensure a happy and secure dressing room; nothing more, nothing less.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
Kudos to Vales for saving nature
This has reference to the report ‘Flower Power: retired Seraulim man transforms garbage-strewn stretch’ (O Heraldo, July 10).
Kudos to this retired man, Savio Vales, for single-handedly turning a garbage-strewn roadside spot into picturesque spot by planting flowering plants. Great initiative! Great achievement! He has not just brought beauty to the surroundings he has helped the cause of Nature; he has added greenery to this locality in Seraulim.
This is a small initiative from Savio but it adds to the larger picture. As I’ve always been saying if we do our little bit in growing plants in our own locality, we would see the larger picture ahead. Let’s hope that this small initiative of Savio will help others to do their bit in saving Nature. We are witnessing how Nature is hitting back.
Melville X D’Souza, Mumbai
