Absence of lawyers should not hinder judgements
In India, crores of court cases are pending before the courts for various reasons. One main cause is when either the public prosecutor (PP) or the defense lawyers and sometimes the police or the judge fail to turn up on the day of the hearings. This delays the verdict or a one-sided verdict may be given by the judge. The recent example is the anticipatory bail given to a person who was reportedly involved in a serious accident at Banastarim. This happened since the PP and police did not turn up with any material to show that the applicant had a role in the alleged crime, despite given opportunity and time.
This is just one instance while daily there would be many instances when the lawyers for the accused and/or PP do not turn up, especially in critical and high profile cases. This raises doubt in the mind of the people that there could be more than what meets the eye. There could be genuine exigencies because of which one party may remain absent but since no one is indispensable it could be mandated that if the PP does not turn up then the assistant PP should attend the court. Similarly, if the defense lawyer or the investigating officer is absent, his/her assistant should take their place.
Sridhar D’Iyer, Caranzalem
MLAs’ salary increase has to be justified
In his article ‘MLA salary increase: great, now performance please’ by Blaise Costabir (O Heraldo, August 25, 2023), he has argued for performance from our MLAs, which should be commensurate with the increase in salaries and perks they have awarded themselves. While Costabir’s arguments deserve the forum you have provided, the matter is far more serious. In the first place, it is us ordinary residents of Goa who must be approached with any such proposal, since they are constitutionally our representatives and we therefore are their principals.
Our public servants may petition us to review their salaries and performance and only then can we consider if any increase is justified. Here we have a farcical situation where the servants have arrogated to themselves such a right, which they do not have administratively or under public service rules.
Rahul Goswami, Betim
Safeguarding the Himalayas
It is clear that the lack of warning and disaster management systems have been the major reasons for the environmental degredation that often take place in the Himalayan region in recent times. But at the root of the disasters is the utter disregard for the ‘carrying capacity’ of this fragile area’s natural systems. The human-induced assault includes unregulated, unsafe and ill-planned infrastructure development that have happened without proper checks and balances. Flouting of rules has been rampant and with impunity, but the tragedies have shown that we cannot bribe nature. Since antiquity, humans and the Himalayan environment have had a close relationship. But sadly, in recent times we have sought to adapt the Himalayan environment to our whims and needs, thereby causing environmental devastation, which has exacerbated the natural process.
Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai
Should we trust Tourism Minister on EDM?
Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte has reportedly said that his government will not dance to tunes of the Sunburn promoter to somehow show that he’s very much against the holding of the said event in the vicinity of Manohar International Airport at Mopa this time for a reason.
Well, these are all temporary blackmailing tactics because our past tourism ministers were also heard issuing such similar type of statements to fool our gullible Goans for a while, and then granting permissions at the last minute after doing their own deals/settings with the promoter of this very same festival in Goa.
Goans should therefore not take the statement of our tourism minister very seriously because he too will finally go to do his own setting and officially allow the promoter of Sunburn to wholeheartedly organize that particular festival not just in the vicinity of the Manohar International Airport at Mopa but in any part of Goa, maybe even in the vicinity of a most sacred holy place of Old Goa.
Jerry Fernandes, Saligao
Student molestation is a serious matter
In a shocking incident a 14-year-old minor girl was allegedly molested by the Physical Education teacher while she was answering an examination in a school in Ponda. Her trauma got worse as the school authorities instead of taking any action against the teacher against whom the victim complained, forced her and her sister to leave school, making the school complicit in covering up the purported criminal action of the teacher.
A thorough investigation needs to be carried out in the incident and the culprit punished under the purview of the law. Such incidents should not take place in schools in future. It is against the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme of the government.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Education has become a business
Education has become the medium of earning money and not a way for imparting knowledge. The private institutions work under the names of sophistication and showcases their unworthy tags of institutions. The students pursuing medicine have been forced to go to far-off countries such as Ukraine because of the prohibitive fees in medical colleges. The private institutions are mushrooming at a fast rate. Ever since private self-financing colleges began to come up, an impression has been made that the education sector is a business that has the potential to reap profits. In a country where education is still not universal in access but demand is huge, private universities have seen a phenomenal growth over the last half decade, largely outpacing the other kinds of universities. Any public or social service such as education, healthcare, etc cannot be deemed to be businesses. These services need to be rendered without profit motive.
K G Vilop, Chorao
Destruction of sand dunes in Varca
This has reference to the report ‘Row over destruction of sand dunes in Varca; villagers want panchayat to file plaints’ (O Heraldo August 28, 2023). Once again the ecology and the environment on the whole is taking a heavy beating. The alleged damage to sand dunes in Varca is yet another instance. I mean, why are we hell-bent on destroying what nature has created? Sand dunes as we know, provide natural coastal protection against storm surge and high waves, preventing or reducing coastal flooding and structural damage. And also, providing important ecological habitat. They also act as sand storage areas, supplying sand to eroded beaches. Already, we are turning our towns and cities into concrete jungles and the consequences are there for all to see – flooding for one. It seems like human life has no value. The authorities don’t seem to care.
It’s time we all wake up to the reality and stop destruction of nature in all its aspects. It’s human existence at stake!
Melville X D’Souza, Mumbai
