Smart City fiasco
The work that is going on in Panjim to make the capital city of Goa a Smart City is not being done as per the plan. Everything is going haywire. Consultants are acting as if they are the landlords. Nobody is there to direct them and nobody is there to supervise the work that’s being done. It seems that everything is left to Panjim MLA and CCP Mayor to supervise which is not being done at all.
Initially the Panjim MLA used to say everything is going on smoothly and now the same person is saying that the full work of the Smart City is substandard. Finally Government has appointed Sanjit Rodrigues to take charge and finish the work. It’s too late now to appoint a capable person like Sanjit Rodrigues to take over, when southwest monsoon is already knocking at the door. When will he get the work done? There is hardly any time for Rodrigues to act. At the most he can only investigate and find out what went wrong, where, till date. So it is almost final that the capital city Panjim will be flooded within a few days, which will be worse than before. And then the blame game will commence.
Natividade Fernandes, Cavelossim
Wiping out
Portuguese culture
The Goa Chief Minister once again made a statement about destroying of the temples in Goa by the Portuguese. This time he vowed to wipe away the signs of Portuguese culture in Goa. That Portuguese rule in Goa lasted for 454 years, is part of Goan history. How can you erase this history?
Does the CM know that the crops such as potato, papaya, chilly, black pepper, groundnut were brought by the Portuguese to India through Goa? Cashew and bread especially the popular pao were introduced to Goa and to India by the Portuguese. So was tobacco cultivation in India in 1605. Grafting of mango trees was introduced by the Portuguese in 1563 which produced the much in demand varieties such as Alphonso etc. These are big industries today. The Portuguese influenced Goan cuisine. Documentation and records during Portuguese regime, although manually written, were excellent and well preserved. They were not missing or pages were not torn as of now.
Goa and India enjoys cordial relations with Portugal. The ‘Portugal influenced culture’ in Goa is a selling point of Goa tourism. Goans get employment in Europe because of Portuguese passport. Do we need to say more?
The statement of Goa CM seems to be a pre-election, vote garnering stunt. It is absurd, impractical and not in the interest of Goa and Goans.
Rodney de Souza, Assagao
Needless jingoism
Our Chief Minister’s utterances of late give us the impression that 62 years after the Portuguese left Indian shores, we are still fighting them. He went so far as to say that the time has come to ‘wipe out’ signs of the Portuguese culture (Mughals were the other culprits) and make a fresh start. At a recent function to honour Shivaji, he trotted out familiar tropes of invaders razing Hindu temples to dust, he also mentioned that the Portuguese looted the state and neutered Goan culture / heritage which is nothing but obfuscation of the truth. According to. Sawant the Portuguese destroyed 300 Hindu temples, the truth of which could not be established by a government appointed committee itself. These Sanghis have nothing good to offer the country or the state in future, therefore they keep dragging us meaninglessly into the past and make us indulge in internecine battles.
If you were to wipe out all signs of Goa’s colonial legacy you would also have to do away with the churches, chapels, schools, Asia’s oldest medical college, fado, the first hospital and vibrant cultural institutions which were left behind. As they say, ‘let sleeping dogs lie’, why rake up the hoary past? what influence does Afonso de Albuquerque or Aurangzeb have on modern day Goa? Since the Hon’ble CM is so rambo-ishly gung ho about ‘wiping out’ things, may I suggest that he trains his guns on wiping put unemployment, price rise, wealth inequity, inflation, hunger, malnutrition, crime, the drug mafia etc, from Goa. That would be a much better use of time, money and resources.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Irregular and erratic water supply
The issue of irregular and erratic water supply have turned into a nightmare to residents. Goa tom toms that it is the first state to receive ‘Har Ghar Nal’. But there is no ‘jal’. The taps are dry without water in some of the talukas. Newspapers carry the news of water shortages on regular basis. Moreover there is no prior information of water shortages. Even if it previously intimated about non supply of water, it will be according to whims and fancies of authorities. It appears that VIPs get water at anytime. It is the common man who is facing hardships and ordeals due to irregular water supply.
A normal human being requires a sufficient amount of water for daily uses such as drinking, cooking, washing etc. It is the primary duty of the State to provide safe drinking water. Otherwise it amounts to violation of human rights. Water is the basic need for the survival of human beings and is part of the right to life and human rights as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India. When there is irregular water supply how do we quench our thirst? There is no regulation on water supply to people’s houses by the PWD. Peoples are fed-up with irregular and erratic water supply. Moreover, the government have set wrong priorities and in future there will be no water even to drink if corrective measures are not initiated.
K G Vilop, Chorao
‘Goa’s got talent’ Competition
It must be said that Goans are blessed with different types of talent. One can witness the acting talent in tiatrs and nataks which are held regularly. Besides acting, Goans are also known the world over as talented singers and musicians. Several singers and musicians have gained fame across the globe. However it must be said that Goans are also blessed with several different other talents, however, there is no proper platform for citizens to display their talent. It is pertinent to note there are television shows like ‘America’s Got Talent’, ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, ‘India’s Got Talent’ to name a few. Instead of a televised show the Goa government through the Directorate of Art and Culture could organize a live ‘Goa’s Got Talent’ competition where individuals can showcase their talent on stage.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
