Dereliction of duty in Porsche tragedy
This refers to the editorial ‘Broken system leaves broken lives’ (May 29). Following the tragic Porsche accident in Pune where a teenager’s car collided with a motorcycle killing two young engineers, the unimaginable dereliction of duty at all levels, from police officers to even doctors has shocked the nation. How did the two senior doctors attached to Pune government hospital ever think of replacing the blood samples of the minor accused to prove no traces of alcohol in the blood?
What must baffle the society is the willingness of the doctors to give in to inducements and become part of a crime for the sake of money. It was incumbent upon them to stand by the law and ensure justice is done, instead they betrayed it. This will go down in history as an incident which brought disrepute to the noble profession.
This is normally the case of higher and influential people who with the power of money evade arrest after grave crimes leaving innocent victims to the mercy law. The last year’s tragic accident at Banastarim, where a real estate developer killed three people and injured several, is still fresh in memory.
Gregory Fernandes, Mumbai
Seed bombing technique a fun outdoor activity
It must be said that deforestation is taking place in a big way in Goa which is blessed with a lot of greenery. Our green land is making way to concrete jungles. Even in our cities trees are being cut ostensibly to broaden the roads.
However, no adequate replantation drive is being carried out in order to replenish the green cover. Vanmahotsav, which means ‘Forest festival’, is an annual one-week tree-planting festival in India, which is celebrated in the first week of July.
It is a great Indian tradition to honour and love mother earth by planting trees, by creating awareness of nature’s beauty. By planting more trees, we can help mitigate the impact of climate change, protect the environment, and promote human well-being. With the monsoon at our doorsteps, it is an opportune time to carry out tree-plantation drives. By nature, children are lovers of plants and greenery. It is necessary to introduce school children to tree plantation, seed bombing and grafting methods as an outdoor fun activity. A seed bomb is a little ball of clay compost and seeds.
They can be thrown on the ground and when it rains the seeds will germinate and grow into trees. In Goa the technique can be used to plant fruit-bearing trees like mango, jackfruit, cashew, etc.
Alternatively children can use a catapult to propel seeds to a distance where it will germinate in the rainwater.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Make fastening seatbelts in aircraft compulsory
Many instances have been recorded recently where plane passengers have been injured or died due to sudden onset of turbulence during flights.
The most current case involved a Singapore Airlines flight encountering severe turbulence over Myanmar due to which 30 passengers were injured and one died of a suspected heart attack.
A Qatar Airways Doha-Dublin flight cruising over Turkey hit undetected air pockets, which resulted in rapid descent of the aircraft and injuries to 12 passengers. There is both detectable and undetected turbulence (clear air turbulence), the latter being more dangerous because it is invisible to both radar and satellites.
Injuries due to aircraft encountering adverse weather conditions could range from bruises, cuts and concussion to fractures and spinal trauma. Climate change leading to increased temperature differences between different atmospheric layers, jet stream activity, chemtrails and thunderstorm activity also has a significant role to play in frequent occurrence of intense turbulence.
Aviation authorities should formulate laws making it mandatory for air travellers to keep their seat belts fastened at least for all short haul flights; this might go some way in preventing trauma and casualties.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Keep a tab on illegal constructions
Recently, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant made statement on any structure erected on government land pumping in Mayem evacuee property must be demolished.
The rising urbanisation has triggered unbridled construction activities to meet the needs of the growing population. Government land or other land cannot be allowed to be encroached upon. Any unauthorised or illegal construction on government land or on another’s property should always be demolished.
If the officials concerned are not dealt with appropriately, the menace of illegal construction cannot be arrested, and it is only a matter of time within which the city will have more unauthorised constructions than authorised ones.
The citizens cannot argue that they will do mass scale encroachment on government land and thereafter seek regularisation of encroachment and constructed buildings allegedly on the ground of their policy.
The competent authority should prepare SOPs for officials to check illegal construction at initial stage.
K G Vilop, Chorao
Include more professions for OCI Card holders
Currently, as per the Rules, Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holders can pursue seven professions in India. They are advocates, doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, architects and chartered accountants. Besides those with OCI are also eligible for appointment such as teaching faculty in IITs, NITs, IIMs and Central Universities.
Maybe the government should consider widening the ambit by allowing some other professions. To start with, engineers and researchers could be in the zone of consideration of professions that OCI card holders could pursue in the country of their origin.
An OCI card acts as a powerful tool for those of Indian origin to maintain their heritage and contribute to India’s growth while navigating the legal framework with due diligence and respect for the rules, laws and prevailing regulations.
Further, an OCI card should be a very valuable asset that bridges our life between India and the country of our residence and continues to have benefits to individuals and to India. It is crucial for OCI cardholders and applicants to have a clear understanding of both the rights granted and the restrictions imposed. By doing so, we can maximise the benefits of our status while scrupulously remaining within the legal precincts set by the Indian government.
Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar
Poor kids deserve better
Right to education is a fundamental right that was brought into being through the 86th Constitutional amendment in 2002.
Every child is entitled to education and it is the duty of the government and the local bodies to ensure so. Article 21-A of the Constitution has declared that the State government shall provide free and compulsory education to all children in the 6-14 age group.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, came to vogue in 2010, looks perfect on paper. But poor implementation of the rules has made sure that compulsory education to poor children in the country is still a far cry. Also, India’s government schools are largely unkempt with no stakeholder genuinely interested in pumping life into them.
At the same time, the government-aided private schools are minting money by charging students excessively. As a rule of thumb, socio-economically challenged children opt for aided schools though gaining admission into unaided private schools is their dream. Such children cannot afford to be taxed heavily. But the government should see to it that aided schools do not face scarcity of funds.
The private educational institutions, that are expected to reserve 25 percent of the seats to children of weaker sections, are not doing so much to the detriment of such students. Under the circumstances, the State governments should take urgent stock of the situation.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
