A toast to Goa’s
O Heraldo newspaper…
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
This newspaper daily has faithfully dedicated itself to the cause of Goa and Goenkarponn. In fact it is synonymous as the Voice of Goa. Among Goans its a morning refresher more addictive than the morning coffee. Until one reads and glimpses through the pages the thirst for Goan news is never satiated.
My congratulations and salams to your years of resilience and hard work towards keeping the Goan torch lighted and making the thousands of Goan heartbeats beat as one. No other media platform has so gratuitously stood behind Goans with all its might. Be it politics, governance, culture, education, business, sports, entertainment, community, O Herald has been a daring, no nonsense and truthful reporting machine. It has indeed been a catalyst in preserving Goa’s communal and cultural harmony. May I conclude by saying that you have been ‘The salt of Goa’s people and its diaspora. Wishing you many more great years of Solid Journalism.
Viva Herald.
Felicio Fernandes, Panjim
Freebie culture makes
mockery of democracy
The election campaign in Delhi has become a sop war between parties that are competitively offering goodies in cash, kind and services to the gullible voters. Election manifestos are treated as promissory notes now, not statements of future plans and policies.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party as well as the two main Opposition parties, the BJP and the Congress, are pulling out all the stops in this high-stakes battle. Their special focus is on women, who have emerged as a make-or-break vote bank in
recent years.
The powerful BJP is bent on beating AAP at its own game, conveniently forgetting that PM Narendra Modi had recently criticised rival parties for promoting the freebies culture.
The RBI has repeatedly cautioned against fiscal repercussions of such giveaways, highlighting how they erode states’ ability to invest in long-term development. Many states, already burdened with high deficits, are resorting to increased borrowing to fund these schemes. Maharashtra is the latest example. The freebie culture is not only vitiating the electoral process but also making a mockery of Indian democracy. The Election Commission should take a serious note
of this.
Gregory Fernandes, Mumbai
Penalise car drivers
not wearing seat belt
It is learnt that in the first 20 days of 2025, the Goa traffic police issued over 15,000 challans for various traffic violations. The most common offences include entering non-entry zones, dangerous parking and riding without helmets. However for some unknown reason, no action is forthcoming against car drivers who do not wear seat-belts. Section 194B of the Motor Vehicle Act 1988 mandates the use of safety belts. Violation of the rule is punishable with a fine of Rs 1000. If car drivers in Goa were pulled up for not wearing seat-belts, the number of traffic violations would have been much higher. As per Newton’s first law of motion, when a car abruptly stops or crashes, due to inertia of motion, a person sitting in a moving car may be pushed f
orward.
A seat-belt stops the body from hitting the steering wheel or windshield of a high-speed car, which could easily result in injury or even death. The spine is also at risk. Even a minor injury to the spinal cord can be devastating. It is learnt that even in minor accidents, people can be brain-dead when they impact the windshield. At higher speed those sitting in the front seat, including the driver, can be thrown through the windshield onto the road. Use of a lap and shoulder belt reduces the risk of fatal injury by 60%. Wearing a seat belt by occupants of a car is as vital as wearing a helmet by a two-wheeler rider.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Adhoc judges for
quick case disposal
The Supreme Court recently suggested that retired High Court judges be appointed to some High Courts where there is an acute pendency of criminal appeals. High Courts of Allahabad, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Patna and Rajasthan were referred to by the bench presided over by the Chief Justice. There are 371 vacancies of the sanctioned strength of 1122 judges in 25 HCs.
Besides, paucity of judges, procedural delays have prolonged a litigant’s misery. Former Chief Justice SA Bobde, in the course of a hearing had pushed for retired High Court judges, based on their expertise, as ad—hoc judges for a limited period in specific branches of law that has a whopping backlog of cases for a very
long time.
Justice Bobde was clear that the serving judges’ interests should not clash with the ad hoc ones. Former judges will bring-in tremendous amounts of experience and talent, familiarity with the task at hand, and focusing on the job with no worries over interference, promotion or transfer.
The Constitution of India, too, is unambiguous over appointing former judges. Article 224A has dealt with the same. Of course, appointment of ad hoc judges should be smooth, quick and their works and perquisites should be adequately taken
care of.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
All citizens are equally
entitled to rights
No kudos is enough for Chander Gupta for the article titled “We all pay taxes” (January 24).
“I pay my tax, so I demand my rights” — a very common boast among many “elite educated enlightened” persons! It seems they are engaged in a sort of “charity” to the State by paying tax upon their income with those not falling within the ambit of tax being “lesser citizens”, also having no authority to raise rights entitled to a human
being !
RJD MP Manoj Jha once had hit the nail hard right on the head of those snob brigade by stressing “This is a welfare state, isn’t it? When a poor man buys a bar of soap, he is as much a taxpayer as Adani and Ambani”! Yes, it needs to be repeatedly reminded to the class-conscious privileged Indians that each and every citizen of the country pays taxes — direct or indirect. So even the richest of rich hold no right to think themselves as of any “special stock” with the indirect tax payer any lesser to them in any respect. And so as citizens of the State, all are equally entitled to all sorts of rights.
Similarly no Government in the Centre or any state holds any moral right to beat its trumpet of providing necessary amenities/services for “free”; more so when the recipient is of economically poor vintage. The citizens have a stake upon the amenities/services of the State and it is nothing but denigration of the recipient when any particular Govt or leader advertises their “magnanimity” by stressing upon the word “free”.
The privileged lot should also remember that not only Indirect taxes contribute more to the Treasury than Direct tax, the economically downtrodden also hold every right to enjoy basic rights like food shelter in subsidised rates. After all, it forms the urgent duty of any Welfare State to look after those citizens in lower economic scale! After all, not only the poorest of poor also pay Tax (indirect), their actual percentage of contribution is more than the rich because they are paying the same amount (say for a tooth brush) despite their proportionately low income. So the privileged few who think they are only paying tax to the Treasury of the nation are damn fools.
Kajal Chatterjee, Kolkatta
