Stop leakage of water from tankers
One can frequently see water tankers plying on the roads and rushing to supply to houses, gated complexes, hotels, restaurants etc. Most times, there is leakage and seepage of water from the tankers and water spills on the roads due to faulty output tap or from an overflow metallic pipe. The other issue is when tankers slowly make their way up slope (Dona Paula, Bambolim, Altinho) due to the motion, water spills also from the top/lid of the tankers. All these lead to slippery roads and could cause potential accidents especially for two-wheelers. Now that summer is round the corner and with diminishing water levels in the dams of Goa, there will be a huge demand for water tankers. The owners of the tankers should find ways to stop the wastage of precious water while traffic cops need to penalise the offenders.
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Sridhar D’Iyer, Caranzalem
LPG price hike jolt to common man
The hike in LPG price would burden the people further when the prices of all food and essential commodities are rising relentlessly. There is a unprecedented growth in GDP (gas, diesel, petrol) which are at their highest prices ever. People’s acche din are here again. The steep hike in the prices of essential commodities like milk, spices, vegetables, pulses, edible oil, non-vegetarian items, eggs and grocery items during the last few months is burning a hole in the pockets of lower middle income groups and economically weaker families.
The people finding it hard to manage their day to day affairs. Now the new slogan of the BJP at centre is ‘`Na Khaane Dunga aur Na Pakane Dunga’. With LPG prices crossing the Rs 1,100-mark, the poor now have to make unfair choices about their basic standard of life. Almost 10 per cent of the households in India have already rolled back to using fire wood. Most other families are also thinking of going the same way.
K G Vilop, Chorao
Need to popularize art of sand sculpting
Goa’s 103 km coastline is blessed with the most enchanting beaches lapped by the Arabian Sea. There are reportedly 54 beaches in Goa. At every beach, the few kilometers of the beach front is covered with sand. Surprisingly sand sculpture is an art which is not widely popular in the state. It is pertinent to note that there are six utterly gorgeous beaches in Puri in Odisha. However the beaches are renowned for the sand sculptures made by internationally known sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik. Sand art is the practice of modelling sand into an artistic form, such as sand brushing, sand sculpting and sand painting. It is an art form which uses sand as its primary and only material to create pieces of art. Only fresh water or sea water is used to compact the sand and give sand its required hardness. It is an amalgamation of the elements of sculpting, painting, construction and outdoor recreation. Requiring no professional training, the art can be taken up by anyone. The science behind sandcastle building has to do with the interaction between water and sand, and with a special force called “surface tension.” It is learnt that recently a historic fort making competition using sand was held at the Morjim beach. Goa needs to promote sand sculpting in a big way by introducing it as an outdoor activity in schools and organizing sand sculpting competitions regularly.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Goa’s first solar ferry boat lying idle
Goa’s first solar ferry boat bought at a whopping 3.9 crores is lying idle for over four months. On 13th October last year while commissioning it, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had announced that it would be plying on the Chorao – Panaji route. He also said he would endeavour to replace all existing ferries with solar ferries to stop fossil fuel and move towards solar energy.
This Goa’s latest white elephant is gathering dust and rust as the Goa government does not have the required manpower to operate this solar ferryboat. Another classic case of putting the cart before the horse. People have a right to know as it is taxpayers money and convenience that is being trampled on.
Taxpayers’ money cannot be squandered in such a reckless manner without proper planning and non-application of mind. Action must be taken against officials responsible for such willful negligence while dealing with the State coffers. The amount of waste at the heart of Government is spiralling out of control. There is little evidence of accountability and responsibility with zero tolerance to waste and corruption being taken seriously to protect the best interests of the taxpayer with a variety of projects. The mess of Panaji because of the discredited reckless and dangerous Smart City project is yet another shining example of such waste without proper planning, thought or supervision.
Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar
Victory and loss
Present day voters are no more the ones who were gullible, easy-to-be exploited type and a could-be- beguiled lot but have taken to serious thinking before casting the vote. They have started to show their likes and dislikes and that too diligently while choosing their candidate.
The grand victory by the BJP and it’s alliances in the North eastern states shows that people are ready to support if they find leaders and the party or alliance they support are ready to voice for the commoners.
The ruling party will have to fulfil the hopes and promises given by them to the people o a war footing . As for the Congress, it’s yet again time for them to learn lessons seriously.
They have to understand that ‘yatras’, ‘pilgrimages’ during election times and freebies will never win the hearts of voters. A strong panel of trustworthy, hardworking, out of the box thinking leaders to cooperate and coordinate is the need of the hour . Wrong alliances eyeing on vote bank, hollow rhetorics , antics and gimmicks are definitely things of the past .
M Pradyu, Kannur
