Promoted Apiculture in a big way
In a significant move to boost the fisheries sector and encourage education in the field, the Goa government has reportedly announced that a Bachelor’s Degree programme in Fisheries Science (BFSc) will soon be launched at the Goa University. The fishing sector has good potential amidst the growing ‘Blue Economy’. Goa being a coastal State with fishing being a source of livelihood for several Goans, this is a step in the right direction.
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BFSc focuses on managing, processing, marketing and conservation of fish. It is a multidisciplinary course that includes the disciplines of aquaculture including breeding, genetics, biotechnology, nutrition, farming, diagnosis of diseases in fishes, medical treatment of aquatic animals among other studies. The fish processing industry is well developed in the country. Fish processing includes curing, canning, freezing, etc. Be that as it may, apiculture is the scientific method of rearing honeybees. Bees pollinate our wild trees and wild-flowers, which then support other insects, which in turn support birds, bats, mammals and everything up the food chain with food and shelter. Honey and other products have medicinal properties.
Due to research being done in the recent years and the ensuing awareness a sizeable number of people from the length and breadth of Goa, have been attending the beekeeping training programmes being held in the State leading to certification. Apiculture needs to be promoted in a big way in the State.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Canada puts cap on visas for int’l students
Canada is the most-preferred destination for higher studies. However, the beeline for student visas is not only for the quality of education, but for the fact that it is an easy route to citizenship.
The majority of students going for studied to Canada do not return. Taking advantage of this, small colleges of dubious distinction have sprouted in Canada primarily for seeking citizenship. The huge number of students flocking to Canada has created a huge housing shortage. However, there has been a huge decline in number of student applicants from India, this year. The reasons are the very high cost of living in Canada and the Indian government’s tax on foreign currency. Added to this is the fact that it is virtually impossible to purchase a house in Canada. A few years ago the mortgage rate for purchase of a house was just 2%. Suddenly, it has gone up to around 7% which even Canadians of long standing cannot afford. The Canadian dream seems to be fading fast.
Robert Castellino, Calangute
Hidden woes of plastic money
Banks are flooding the market with credit cards with flimsy promises and there are thousands who easily fall prey for the marketing gimmicks of banks that issues plastic money, these banks issuing credit cards advertise sugar coated offers galore that have a hidden agenda terms and conditions which even educated fail to read which are unfamiliar to even educated masses for default of Rs 200 one may end up paying Rs 3,000 as late fee. Some people are issued credit cards without even applying but only through someone or the other proposing. I noticed that bank doesn’t send statements if above Rs 30000 they send the next statement with late payment charges.
It is risky to leave the card for even a few seconds, usually the waiter takes the credit card to the cash counter this gives ample opportunity to copy all information from the card including security number so people should be made aware of this marketing gimmicks of the banks by RBI or other regulatory authorities issuing banks. Common man is paying a heavy price for using plastic money rather indiscriminate clever and aggressive advertisement fool gullible individuals and fall for credit cards. It is time the regulatory authorities readdress the problems facing the credit cards by people of the country on a war footing.
Diomedes Pereira, Corlim
Ayodhya should be a symbol of reconciliation
Finally Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the grand Ayodhya temple on the very site that once housed the disputed Babri mosque. In fact, the PM, the BJP and the Sangh Parivar have always made the Ram Mandir issue a part of their politics and for this reason a large campaign and mobilisation was witnessed in many States for the past many days. The Ayodhya temple must inspire and promote the conception of a politic determined not by an obsession with the past, but by an appreciation of the difficulties of the present and the challenges and opportunities of the future. Ayodhya needs to be retrieved from its immediate past because the agitation over it was divisive and polarising. It should now be a symbol of unity and reconciliation and should appeal to all people in the country.
Gregory Fernandes, Mumbai
There must not be undue delay in bail orders
Indian judiciary is known to move at a snail’s pace. As much as bail is a matter of right it is equally important that the right is accorded expeditiously to individuals. In bail orders, there should not be undue delay in the orders of the court reaching the prison authorities. The Supreme Court has said that despite its repeated directives, High Courts are delaying adjudication of bail applications. With the exception of an intervening application, all bail matters have to be decided within two weeks of being filed and all anticipatory bails within six weeks, the top court has reiterated again recently. This order came after an anticipatory bail application was kept pending for judgment for a year by a High Court after it was initially heard.
Though bail is a temporary privilege by definition, the non-uniformity in its interpretation has, sometimes, led to chaos. Despite the sheer number of bail applications filed before them, High Courts should evolve a mechanism for their speedy disposal because Section 436 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) defines bailable offences, and the underlying principle behind granting of bails by courts, as ‘personal liberty’. Freedom and personal liberty are fundamental rights of a citizen as laid down by Article 21 of the Constitution.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
Will 2024 polls provide hope for democracy?
2024 is going to be democracy’s biggest and most remarkable year ever, as a host of nations, including India, go to polls with half the world’s adults casting their votes.
Never in the history will so many people have the opportunity to put a mark on a ballot in a single year. A democratic life in a free society means not just holding elections and political parties getting elected to form governments. But a true democracy requires a robust Opposition, a free and unrestrained Press, full rights and freedom for all citizens, full inclusion of minorities and women, an independent judiciary, a military and police force that serve the Constitution, and not the leaders, and a critical Parliament that will have constructive debates and Bills passed for the welfare of the people.
Will elections in 2024 meet all these requirements and provide a glimmer of hope for a true democracy to prevail in nations across the world?
Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai
