Goa’s sole radio station at risk
All the time now you can hear on Akashvani Radio Panaji station Modi ki guarantee Blah blah!!. We cannot find our favourite programmes on the right and suitable time.
The station master at Panaji should reinstate the programme times of talks/doctors tips/farmers tips/interviews during the morning hours and siesta time during 2 pm till 6 pm and all music all genres or styles from 6 pm till 12 pm.
It is said the video killed the radio but we Goans still love the radio. Relaxing in our balcaos sipping refreshing, enjoying and interacting with RJ Shakuntala, Charu Sheela, Bhao, Alfie, Orina PC and others to the programmes like Doriachi Lahram, Jukebox, Rock n roll, Twist, Classic, Country, Manojoptim gitam, Karnavolam etc. The Radio will not die if you feed our Goan Radio properly from time to time with right music at the right time otherwise like Doordarshan is out of mind now, our radio is sure to die !
Alfredo Afonso, Santo Estevam
Defective speed governors could create problems
It is learnt that rent-a-cab and taxi owners have claimed that many accidents are taking place due to defective speed governors. According to vehicle owners, many of the speed governors which have been fitted are causing sudden drop in the speed of the vehicles and at times sudden acceleration. This can prove very dangerous. On the whole, the use of speed governors could have a negative side to it.
It could mean that the driver does not have complete control over the vehicle. This can prove risky if the speed drops while overtaking another vehicle or while climbing a steep slope. Sudden drop in speed of a vehicle can result in another vehicle banging from the back which can even result in a pile up due to collision of several vehicles. It is a fact that overspending does lead to accidents.
However the driver not having total control on the vehicle as a result of speed governors can also prove dangerous. At times sudden speeding becomes necessary to avoid a crash. The pros and cons of using speed governors need to be taken into consideration.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Tourists should respect beaches
This has reference to the report ‘Drunken tourist recklessly drives car near nesting sites in Morjim’ (Herald March 12, 2024). Drunken driving is one of the worst things happening in the world around us, killing innocent people and devastating families. It is imperative therefore, that drunken driving be curbed. The recent incident of a tourist driving rashly in a drunken state at Morjim beach posing serious threat to people and turtle nests on the beach needs to be taken seriously. Strict action must be taken against such offenders. In Mumbai too, at Gorai beach, I have witnessed people driving rashly with complete disregard for the lives of others who have come for a peaceful walk on the beach. Some are using the beach for driving lessons. One hopes better counsel prevails.
Melville X D’Souza, Mumbai
Stag tourists bane for Goa
Kerala is known as ‘God’s Own Country’. The tourism department’s slogan is easily the most recallable slogan in the country. Goa tourism slogan on the other hand is largely unknown. Ask the common Goan on the streets for confirmation. At least, I am not aware of our slogan other than a vague idea of sun, sand and wine. However going by the current state of tourism in Goa, I believe that the slogan: ‘Bhivpachi garaz na’ reflects the current sorry state of Goa tourism.
Sample this: Welcome to Goa. Hire a bike, rent a car, have a drink, drive like crazy and paint the town red, kills a few people in the bargain. Who cares?
Stags, welcome to Goa. Leave your families behind. How can you enjoy with them hanging around? Come in droves packed like sardines in SUVs. No need for booking hotel rooms. We have many sulabhs for you. Bring your 5-kg gas cylinder along with you. (The cylinders were made keeping you in mind). Cook in the open fields. The food tastes better. Welcome to Goa. Enjoy our beaches. Have impromptu beach parties, sing and dance under the clear sky. Who cares if bottles are broken and glass pieces cause foot injuries to others? .
Welcome to Goa. Spend the night in the hundreds of shacks and pubs we have. Shake up the entire village with loud music. After all, you come to Goa for only a day or two. You have a right to enjoy. Nobody dares complain.
Enough is enough. It’s time for the govt to read the riot act to those who come to Goa only to destroy the state. Family tourism must be encouraged by making taxi travel and hotel rates affordable.
Stag tourism must be discouraged by making life difficult for them. It must be understood that stag tourists, (hordes of them), are the bane of Goa tourism. As long as these hordes of stags keep coming Goa will never improve.The police must harass them by detaining them for long periods even for minor transgressions of the law. The police must put the fear of God in them so that they never ever return to Goa.
Robert Castellino, Calangute
Stand-off between SC and SBI, a litmus test
The stand-off between the Supreme Court and State Bank of India on the contentious electoral bond issue is a litmus test for the government who has been creating an atmosphere of deceit under the pervasive Orwellian rule of big brother. In this digital age, all records are available on the click of a button and it is no brainier to cull and collate information and put it in public domain.
In banking parlance, all accounts are reconciled at the close of banking hours and hence there is no justification for seeking extension in furnishing the details. There may be an external force behind the murky scene of dilly-dallying tactics. By hiring the best of legal brains may not save the situation for SBI as the CJI has termed the act as ‘wilful disobedience’. Social media is replete with videos doing the rounds giving enough fodder to the people in this battle of wits.
Everette Assis Telles, Margao
Greta, Greta, Greta, hail the trinity
When Greta Garbo, the Swedish American silent movies star became the sensational poster girl of Hollywood people must have thought, it was the only Greta. Decades later, amidst searing heat waves across the world, and impassioned demonstrations against fossil fuels use, came along Greta Thunberg who cemented her place in the annals of climate change protests, with her own brand of denouncing global warming, became yet another celebrated Greta. Then, right from the fascinating world of movies again, strode Greta Gerwig with an astounding direction of the hit movie `Barbie’, to become at least the third Greta to take the world by storm, and coincidentally not nominated for best director for the Oscars although having become the maiden woman billionaire director, the first woman in history.
Elvidio Miranda, Panjim
