Upgrade Railways’
parcel section
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A few days back 500 kg of decomposed beef worth Rs 1.5 lakh was seized at Margao Railway Station in parcels that had arrived from Delhi.
The smugglers were caught since because of the unusually warm weather the meat prematurely spoilt and raised a stink. This chance finding reportedly indicates the possibility of widespread smuggling of beef since years.
According to the cops, this was not a one-time affair but perhaps a regular one. In the absence of State-of-art technology, the smugglers exploited gaps in the Railways’ parcel inspection system and also listed the contents as ‘chicken’.
It is surprising that though the Railways run sophisticated trains and have beautified stations in the country, but seems to have not upgraded their parcel section.
Railways could install baggage scanners and also employ sniffer dogs in the parcel section which is vulnerable and is/can be misused by vested interest to send illegal goods including arms, ammunition and drugs.
Sridhar D’Iyer, Caranzalem
Stray dog menace
Stray dog menace continues to trouble visitors to the beaches, especially at the South Goa beaches. It is learnt that over the weekend a Russian woman tourist at Benaulim beach was chased by a pack of six dogs and bitten by one, while strolling on the beach in the evening.
It is observed that most of the time it is the foreign tourists who are attacked by dogs roaming in packs.
One wonders whether these stray dogs have a preference for white skin when it comes to attacking. Several foreign tourists, who were badly bitten by free-roaming dogs, rue that their holiday was wasted in recovery or visiting hospitals for anti-rabies vaccinations and share their bad experience on social media.
Some local authorities have taken steps to address the problem, but the tourism stakeholders stress that more comprehensive government intervention is needed. They warn that unless proactive measures are taken, the stray dog menace could pose a growing threat to Goa’s tourism.
Dogs naturally form packs, and this pack mentality can sometimes lead to aggressive behaviour, especially when they perceive a threat, which makes them a much greater danger compared to a single stray dog.
Goa has seen a significant increase in its stray dog population, leading to more frequent encounters between dogs and beachgoers. Beach visitors should refrain from feeding stray dogs, as this can contribute to their aggressive behaviour.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Terminate services
of GU Asst prof
Pending inquiry the Goa University has temporarily suspended an assistant professor whose name has come up in the alleged question paper theft at the varsity.
It should be noted that a group of social activists, along with members of National Students Union of India (NSUI) on Sunday had lodged a formal complaint at the Agassaim Police Station against the said assistant professor for allegedly stealing a question paper to help a second-year postgraduate female student secure high marks in an examination.
A protest was then held on Monday outside the Vice Chancellor’s office by the BJP-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists to demand for an inquiry into the above incident and for the professor’s immediate suspension.
Of course, Vice Chancellor Harilal B Menon has now confirmed that a two-member fact-finding committee has been constituted to investigate the above matter and submit a report within 48 hours. He has also promised to take further action based on the committee’s findings.
Well, I personally feel that nothing will really come out from the two-member fact-finding committee as the report will finally say that the said assistant professor is fully innocent and with this he will slowly be reinstated back in the Goa University.
I therefore think that the university administration, instead of bluffing Goans by constituting a two-member fact-finding committee for time-pass should permanently terminate the services of the above accused professor immediately who has been caught red-handed breaking academic integrity and strict legal action should be taken against those involved to ensure fair education for all in Goa in future.
Hope better sense prevails.
Jerry Fernandes, Saligao
When will
Railways learn?
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has been holding forth on the powerful locomotives that trains will start using shortly and how the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) will be manufacturing parts for the Hyperloop system that IIT, Madras is trying to develop.
While doing all this, he does not probably get time to look at the pictures published in the newspapers over the last few days wherein the Patna division people were seen spilling over from the compartments that were full and hanging on to the coaches from outside in whatever manner they could and also travelling on the roofs of the coaches.
This was on the occasion of Holi where people were going home. Imagine if one of these trains were to meet with an accident, the number of people who would be dead.
Since most tracks are electrified, people dangerously travelling on the top of the coaches could be electrocuted.
Why is the Railways not focusing on anticipating the rush and providing additional trains so that the crowding is more manageable?
These pictures published in the newspapers as mentioned above are indicative that more disasters like the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station are likely to happen since the Railways never seem to learn anything.
Srinivas Kamat, Mysore
Govt should link hygiene, tourism
It is rather ironic that fundamental necessities like cleanliness and hygiene are treated as a mission whereby we take up brooms on Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 and Swachh Bharat Mission once a year.
Can we clean all the filth and dirt in one day? Why not every day? A mission, is one day a mission for advertisement or propaganda for votes? It’s a debatable question. We need to begin cleanliness at home and school, workplace and even markets and individual level, yet we continue to see people casually tossing wrappers, bottles, and even peeled fruits out of the moving vehicles and even spitting after eating paan and tobacco and the sight of paan – stained walls in public buildings and markets remains a concern for cleanliness.
For India to establish itself as a premier global tourism destination the Government of India should enforce laws like Singapore by implementing strict regulations to maintain cleanliness starting with one city each, the results will be there to see in years to come. There should be a link between hygiene and tourism. It would not only enhance food safety, but also attract international tourists.
Likewise, accessibility is the key for the tourism sector to flourish, and we need well maintained roads, not potholes that resemble lunar surface.
Diomedes Pereira, Corlim
