Covid-19 returns
Covid-19 cases are rising again and there’s a new highly mutated variant cropping up in States. Covid does not seem to be giving us a break, as new variants keep popping up now and then.
This may be a contributing factor in the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in India. Kerala has witnessed an increase in Covid-19 cases, where JN.1 sub-variant of Covid-19 was discovered during routine surveillance.
Variants are a common occurrence in viruses. They are constantly changing through mutation, and new variants of a virus are expected to occur over time.
Reported symptoms of JN.1 include fever, runny nose, sore throat, headache, and mild gastrointestinal symptoms. Though preventive measures are important, vulnerable populations may always be at risk.
To prevent the spread of infection, people need to follow all contact precautions like frequent washing of hands, wearing masks, maintaining social distance.
K G Vilop, Chorao
Protect turtles
It’s in fact an appreciative move from the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) to initiate the concerned project wherein the sound levels of four protected turtle nesting beaches of Goa, Morjim, Agonda, Galgibaga and Mandrem will be monitored to ascertain if noise pollution is causing disturbance for the success of hatching. This will also go a long way in the protection of the pristine beauty of the said beaches, along with a well maintained ecosystem. Moreover, humans need to be also conscious about these species as it’s also an integral part of our ecosystem, and helps us in maintaining ecological balance in the environment.
Subsequently, the recent leopard attack at Chandel village, wherein it tried to drag a calf away, is a clear indication that their habitats are either destroyed or disturbed by immense human intervention. Furthermore, in the previous month of October, two dogs were attacked by a leopard at Tuem.
Evidently, it all indicates that the wild beasts are in search of prey in the nearby villages. It’s high time now that we maintain a proper balance as far as the green cover is concerned, along with the silver sand beaches.
Eventually, sea turtles are also an endangered species and protecting them must also be the top most priority!
Joseph Savio Desouza,
Candolim
Infant abandonment: A serious matter
It is shocking to note that on a day when the world celebrated the birth of baby Jesus Christ, a 10-day old girl was found abandoned at Miramar. It is learnt that the infant was kept in a box. The police personnel shifted the baby to the Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim where she is responding to the treatment. Such incidents depict the inhuman side of humans. There are several reasons for abandonment of infants.
Primary causes of child abandonment have been found to be a child being born out of wedlock, poverty or financial hardship, being a single parent, postnatal depression, mental illness, with the child having some form of disability, among other reasons.
Those who abandon the newborn can be punished under Section 317 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It attracts a punishment of a jail term which may extend to seven years or with fine or both. In the present instance it is learnt that the CCTV was not functioning and the hard-disk went missing.
This will obviously hamper the efforts of the police to trace the culprits involved in the crime. It must be said this is a major flaw on the part of the authorities concerned.
The CCTV cameras should be functioning at all times and not exist just as a show-piece.
Hopefully the infant will recover fully and the culprits will be apprehended at the earliest.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Book on former Prez
Former and late president Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee has recently penned a book, “Pranab, My Father: A Daughter Remembers.” Besides offering a fascinating glimpse into the distinguished life of Pranab Mukherjee, the book reportedly dwells deep on him, whose life from a nondescript village in West Bengal’s Birbhum district became a roller-coaster career in politics.
Pranab Mukherjee was a stalwart politician and an outstanding parliamentarian. He became the first president with the distinction of heading before three crucial ministries – External Affairs, Defence and Finance. Known for his sharp memory of numbers, Pranab Mukherjee, during meetings, would quote figures from past five-year plans and other government data in a flash, leaving his colleagues stunned. Pranab Mukherjee’s knowledge on government matters, complex policy issues and his mastery over numbers made him the go-to man during any crisis in governance.
As Finance Minister, he was at his essential best, reeling out the figures extempore and prices of commodities, relying on his extraordinary memory power. Mentored by Indira Gandhi, who once asked him to get a tutor to smoothen out his thick Bengali-accented English. Mukherjee replied, “Madam, you can’t square the circle. I am who I am. You have to tolerate it.”
Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai
The government brooks no opposition to facilitate the passage of legislation
The three bills replacing British era criminal laws have received the President’s assent thus turning them into laws. The moot point here is- does she have any say in the matter at all? I am sure Droupadi Murmu is very well aware how the just concluded Parliamentary session was used by the ruling party to bulldoze these bills through without any discussion or debate.
Aided and abetted by partisan speakers in both Houses, 142 MPs were suspended by the government which brooks no opposition to facilitate the passage of legislation unhindered. The mass suspensions were pre-planned and weaponised by the saffron dispensation to undermine the democratic process.
During the days of Pranab Mukherjee as president quite a few bills were returned to the executive for reconsideration, amendment and further deliberations; in those times the government was held accountable to the people proactively by the person occupying the highest office in the land.
Rekha Sarin Trehan,
Benaulim
