The Show Must Go On
Countries all over the world are enforcing strict containment rules to control the spread of COVID-19, but Goa is an exception. In Goa ‘The Show Must Go On’.
The decision by the Government to organize the carnival celebrations amidst the pandemic is appalling. This year the celebrations could have been paused in order to stop the spread of the virus, to mourn the lives of innocent goans lost due to the virus and to respect the efforts and dedication of our health warriors.
I request the concerned authorities to review their decision again as the situation which is thankfully better may not take too long to deteriorate.
Sheldon Rodrigues, Navelim
Liberation celebration pie
Goa got a surprise Rs 300Cr pot of moolah as against a Rs 100Cr request, to celebrate Goa’s 60 years of Liberation! Who is happy with this? That’s anybody’s guess for the public but not for those in the know.
What exactly do we wish to celebrate? Freedom? Well, we are certainly not free today, so that is out. Development? A cub in the wild will develop to a full grown adult whether it is today or a decade back. What did the Govt. do for development? Or, let us ask: what is the single most element/item that is responsible for Goa reaching the present stage of development never mind what could have been? What is it, that had it not been there for the ‘taking’, would have made the life of many people unbearable?
It is land. Without land there can be no development. So, which is this land? It is the land from the Comunidade, recklessly usurped with no compensation to the owners. Land that is enjoyed today by every person, even the new immigrant, with no thought to the injustice done. Without this land, everyone would have been taxed more had land been purchased from others: businessmen, builders, real estate owners , Politicians. They were all spared this burden by the Comunidade who in turn bore the burden a hundredfold. Strangely, the people working in the Comunidade often go without their salary.
Should not this ‘pie’ be shared only by the Comunidade? Is there anyone who disputes this? Should not an acknowledgement be made for the same? And a pledge that no more land will be acquired from them for the next 30 years?
The present landholders have made a killing on land appreciation and can now bear the burden of surrendering the same for the ‘good of the public’
R Fernandes, Margao
High weekly Covid positive cases
India’s cumulative COVID-19 positivity rate has declined to 5.42 percent, while last week the weekly positivity percent was recorded at 1.82 percent according to the Union Health Ministry. The number of positive cases in Goa may have shown a decline but we are still not out of the woods. At 4.40 percent, Goa is one of the states with the highest weekly COVID-19 positive cases. This is a cause for worry. The number of deaths due to corona virus reported in the state almost every day is also disturbing. However it appears that people in Goa have lowered their guard against the virus. Citizens are seen either not wearing the mask or wearing it below the chin. Maintaining social distancing seems a far cry. Citizens appear to be taking the dangers arising from the pandemic very lightly. Several European countries are reeling under the pandemic and many are under total lockdown. Countries like the US and UK, Brazil, Germany and Russia have shown a surge in deaths for the second time. India has flattened the COVID-19 curve due to the efforts of the government at the centre. It is understood that 47 districts have not reported any new cases in the last three week, while 251 districts have not reported any new deaths during the same period. Goa should strive towards reducing the number of COVID-19 positive cases reported daily and aim for zero deaths due to the virus.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Let’s look into the mirror
Most of us Indians are majorly opinionated about everything and anything under the sun, we hold forth on Caucasians, Asians, Aborigines, Africans, their culture, traditions, food, clothes, habits etc. We also have very strong views about our fellow countrymen, mostly regressive… be it about caste (Brahmins, untouchables, and a myriad shades in between ), political leanings (leftists, rightists, communists, centrist, liberals), culture (us vs them), region (Madrasi, Bengali, UP bhaiya, Marathi manoos, Bangla bhadralok, Balley Balley Punjabi, Bihari babu, etc…. but rarely (Indian) and even colour of skin (fairer is better). We have this habit to get worked up and start frothing at the mouth when foreigners express their thoughts about our own selves, our prejudices or our politics. The default response is to immediately take offence to contrarian views, we suffer from a cultural superiority complex, bigotry and selective amnesia …. utterly clueless about how an interconnected global village functions.Open societies don’t operate in an existential bubble , they don’t feel insecure about dissidents / disagreements or opposing points of view. The key to a vibrant, inclusive nation is to not stiffle dissent but to learn from various persuasions, different schools of thought , take the best from each and move forward, for that is true progress.
Rekha Sarin Trehan, Benaulim
The Rihanna effect
The poor Indian farmers have been living in the bitter cold on the streets of Delhi for more than two months. And we also have some people in Delhi who live in luxury and even have time to play with peacocks! The same Delhi which now resembles a battlefield. Rihanna is a human being like any of us or any other farmer. Her one tweet about the plight of the farmers has brought international attention on the issues faced by lakhs of farmers and also raised the hackles of the Indian politicians and one actress who happens to be a bhakt too.
Since social media has made the world a digital village we can read and comment on any subject from any part of the world. So why is the Indian Government feeling guilty if they have not done any wrong?
Matias Lobo, Tivim
