Demand for sacking of Margao PSI
Goans from across the State are currently demanding for the immediate termination of a Margao Town Police Station PSI for mercilessly assaulting a youngster from Shirvodem, Navelim inside a police station for merely clicking a picture and leaving him partially deaf after that brutal attack at the same police station.
The poor youngster who is said to have got an appointment letter from his firm in Canada and was waiting to fly that country very soon is currently facing an unsure future due to this unfortunate incident in his life. Now, who is going to compensate for his lost career and future in Goa?
Of course, the Margao police after coming under fire from all sections of society has now finally registered an FIR against the said controversial PSI. The police department had earlier suspended him but not terminated him from service and had ordered for a mere departmental inquiry to somehow protect him from the above mentioned incident.
Today, the Goa Police Department has indeed become a ‘goondas’ department due to the acts of such controversial cops and also due to the continuous recruitment of mentally unfit/half educated guys from the interior villages done by our respective politicians.
Forget the higher officers, today even the constables are practically seen misusing the Khaki uniform, flexing their muscles and habitually terrorising innocent Goans behaving like those roadside ‘goondas’ in different parts of Goa.
I therefore strongly feel that the higher-ups from the police department should henceforth not just start holding a counselling session but also start conducting a thorough medical test compulsorily every month.
Jerry Fernandes,
Saligao
Police or goons in disguise?
The excesses and human rights violations by police on November 23, 2021 against a youth Edwin Coelho of Navelim causing grievous injuries to his ear drum after he was slapped and also abused by the PSI Stanley Gomes for no fault of his whereby his career and future is at stake needs to be viewed seriously, irrespective of the social and political background of the PSI.
We are in a democracy and not a martial law therefore the public of Navelim and the family of the victim are within their democratic right to agitate to get justice for assaulting Edwin Coelho by the PSI for merely taking pictures outside the Margao Police station. If an ordinary citizen had committed such an offence against the police an arrest for causing grievous injuries and criminal intimidation was definite than why are the police protecting policeman who are committing criminal offences is a question mark.
It was the police to act sensibly and not take law into their own hands and take precautions to diffuse the situation peacefully. Is it the duty of the police to maintain law and order, or to create law and order problem? If the answer is yes then public will have no faith in police as people will reluctant to go to the police station to solve their problems as police are acting like goons.
This type of State-sponsored hooliganism must be nipped from the bud and the PSI should be terminated not suspended.
Diomedes Pereira,
Corlim
Transporting protruding objects in vehicles
There is dangerous trend of transporting long iron and steel rods and other protruding materials in tempos, lorries, trucks, and cars. Sometimes even pillion riders balance curtain rods on their shoulders as if going for a javelin throw competition! Some cars at their behind have a carrier/rack to which bicycles are attached. In case the car suddenly stops or is involved in an accident then the vehicles or 2-wheeler riders at the back would be seriously injured.
As per the norms of the Road Transport Authority all these are unsafe and illegal methods. A few years back the Supreme Court gave a ruling that no transported material should protrude more than 2 inches from a lorry or truck. Also, at the rear of such vehicles there needs to be a red cloth and warning lights to caution the vehicles tailing them to keep safe distance.
Yet, all of the above practices occur right below the nose of traffic cops but no actions seem to be taken. There should be a crackdown on the lawbreakers and they should be heavily penalised and licences suspended for a few months.
There is no logic in annually ‘celebrating’ Road Safety Week when the rest of the 51 weeks it is ‘business as usual,’ both by the offenders and authorities.
Sridhar D’Iyer,
Caranzalem
Need to boycott Chinese decorations
It may be recalled that in the summer of 2020 anti-China sentiment was high following the border tensions and a call went out across the country to boycott China-made products. The Union government too decided to restrict imports of several items such as colour televisions, air-conditioners and tyres purportedly to promote domestic production of these items and had announced production-linked incentive schemes for select industries to achieve that goal.
Imports had also been hit by the country-wide lockdown in order to contain the Covid-19 pandemic and China was blamed for bringing the Coronavirus into the world. Be that as it may, households are still buying China made gadgets and appliances. However as per statistics imports from China did come down to 17.2 per cent last year.
During the Christmas season various types of Chinese made decorations are available in large quantities both in the market and Online. A call was made to boycott Chinese firecrackers for the Diwali celebrations. During the Christmas season also people need to avoid buying Chinese decorations both from the market and online..
Adelmo Fernandes,
Vasco
Proof of the pudding is in the eating
The State government after avoiding the issue for the past several weeks finally succumbed to public outcry and revoked permission granted to the controversial project at Old Goa belonging to a BJP party functionary. This has been a sordid saga of lies, fraud and influence peddling playing itself out over the past one year. At the time of seeking clearance, the title deed was in the name of one party but was subsequently transferred to another without the requisite deed being executed; the transfer of ownership in a heritage zone was itself an illegal act vide ASI rules.
Also the clearance was conditional to the National Monuments Authority green flagging the construction which was never sought. The NOC granted by the Directorate of Archaeology was explicitly limited to repairs of a purported existing structure and not to a new bungalow. Right from the beginning subterfuge and deceit has been resorted to by the parties concerned to be counted among the elite few who own an independent bungalow in Goa.
In a welcome move, the Old Goa panchayat has served notice to stop work but as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, the citizen’s stir will continue till such time as the structure is actually demolished. To prevent such nefarious activities in future the sarkar should clearly demarcate and fence the buffer zone around heritage/protected monuments all across the State as mandated by the ASI.
Vinay Dwivedi,
Benaulim
