Of potholes and promises
Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant after facing a lot of flak from all sides had confidently assured Goans last month that his government would fully repair all the potholed roads before November 1, 2021 in Goa. Unfortunately, the condition (with the exception of a few main national highways) of most roads (especially in the interior villages) seem to look more worse even after the completion of the said given deadline in Goa.
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Of course, our Public Works Department Minister Deepak Pauskar claims that nearly 80% of the potholed roads have already been repaired and that only 20% road repairing work is still left to be completed in Goa. Hey, when most of these roads have not even been fully hot-mixed but have been partly fixed by putting up those temporary shabby patches here and there, how can Pauskar claim that his department has already repaired almost 80% of the potholed roads in Goa?
I think that if our politicians cannot get simple things done at a given time then instead of bullying Goans to save their own skin, they should immediately resign and sit at home or allow someone capable to take over to get the same job done in a more professional manner in Goa. Hope better sense prevail.
Jerry Fernandes, Saligao
Reduction of LPG price needed
Hours after the central government’s announcement of bringing down the price of petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 respectively, the Goa government reportedly decided to bring the rate of petrol and diesel by Rs. 7 each. With both the central and State government lowering the excise duty, the price of petrol will be reduced by Rs 12 per litre and diesel by Rs. 17 per litre in Goa.
This is a welcome step by both the central government and the State government. But it must be said that what affects the poor people the most is the price of the LPG cylinder. Not all people living ‘Below Poverty Line’ (BPL) own a vehicle. Hence the price of cooking gas is of more importance to the poor than the price of petrol and diesel. As of today the price of the LPG cylinder is Rs 899.50 in North Goa and Rs 913.50 in South Goa. Makes one wonder how there can be two different prices for LPG cylinder in a small state like Goa.
Hence it would be in the fitness of things for the government to reduce the price of LPG cylinders.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Haphazard parking on main roads
The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) has introduced pay parking along certain main roads in Panjim. This welcome step has helped to regulate the parking and perhaps slightly decrease the congestion on the roads. The parking fees are not exorbitant and contribute substantially to the CCP’s coffers. In most cases the car and 2-wheeler drivers pay and go about their work but there are people who do not want to pay Rs 20 and prefer to park on the main road and walk away.
Sometimes there could be a passenger who would say that the driver would be back in a minute or two (or vice-versa), which never happens! The parking attendant requests the driver to park in a slot or move the car and not block the traffic. Such incidents are common along the 18th June Road, near Municipal Garden, Patto City Centre, and other main roads. The arrogant people pay through their nose for fuel but do not have guts to take on the government for the frequent increase in fuel and gas prices. They vent their frustration on a hapless parking dutiful attendant by refusing to pay for an officially declared and meagre parking fees.
We can see even well-to-do and educated persons arguing with the attendants. In the absence of traffic cops to support the attendants the CCP should install CCTVs at important points so that offenders can be caught and penalised 50 to 100 times the parking fees. May be the above scenario could be common in other towns of Goa.
Sridhar D Iyer, Caranzalem
Goan roads, take me home…in one piece
Bad roads in the State are a deterrent for tourists and the logistics sector equally. Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry has red flagged the poor construction of national highways in the State and has in fact demanded a probe into the substandard widening of Patradevi-Porvorim and the Panjim-Canacona stretch.
The way things are going, Goa shall become more famous as a death trap for bikers and motorists including trailer truck drivers and we certainly cannot afford it. Most roads being built are below par with poor drainage, irregular banking angles, uneven levelling and rank bad highway engineering making them accident prone. Even truckers fight shy of coming to Goa thus increasing freight costs which is ultimately passed on to the poor consumer. The uneven, wavy nature of the roads and the potholes add hugely to the fatality count, in fact 107 or 1/3 rd of the total 297 deaths recorded in 2019 was on account of third rate roads alone.
Empty containers have been known to fall off trailers negotiating ill designed bends at Karmali and the Konkan ghats sections. All stakeholders in the road building sector need to pull up their socks and see to it that tax payer’s money is not frittered away this way and we get safe, well engineered and long lasting roads which don’t add to the needless body count.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Poor quality of road works
Pothole roads have been haunting citizens in the State and the substandard patch works have left a crater in to the development plank. And moreover all these are taking when the election is nearing. This will not win public confidence but only dispel doubts.
The greedy politicians without ethics or ideology are indulged in all kinds of tactics to achieve their goal. The greed of power has done more harm than good to the people. People are not protesting spontaneously because they recognise that such tactics are ineffective tools against an authoritarian government. People across all affiliates want real solid palpable development. Any decision of the government, whether economic or social, has to be taken keeping welfare of the people in mind, as they represent nation. A good leader with an impeccable record in political career has to be anointed. That is why good governance is the hallmark of a healthy democracy.
K G Vilop, Chorao
Precious sight
The untimely passing away of Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar has left his fans in a state of shock. More than one week has elapsed since the superstar died of heart attack; the people of Karnataka are yet to come to terms with the fact he is no more with them. Puneeth not only won people’s hearts with a disarming smile and utmost humility but his noble ideas and perfect conduct made him a household name. Even after death, he is in the news for one reason or another. After the hospital confirmed that he had passed away, the Rajkumar family wasted little time in calling the eyebank to collect Puneeth’s eyes. Only after the formality was completed that the body was shifted to his house.
In fact, Puneeth’s father, the late Dr Rajkumar, had set an example for others of his family by pledging his eyes. No longer did the news of Puneeth’s noble gesture spread like wildfire, thousands of people are reportedly lining up in front of the eye banks at Bengaluru to pledge their eyes after death. There are approximately 15 million people in India who are blind. Plenty of them are waiting for a corneal transplant.
Anyone can give their eyes to the needy after death irrespective of his/her age, sex, eyesight or past surgeries though certain infectious and communicable diseases do not permit the same. Don’t just leave a will; leave a vision.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
