Why jetties to promote tourism?
The Tourism Department issued an advertisement in the local dailies inviting for suggestions from the public for the jetties to promote tourism, only 15 days was the time limit for the public to reply and no publication was done in the local language. Many people at the gram sabha have opposed anything to do about the jetties. As the public know the back door entries for construction or renovation of the jetties are for the casinos to enter the village rivers. Now the Tourism Minister tries to clarify that it’s for the already existing jetties, why is this?
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Government, which is known to be in the habit of telling lies and taking the gullible Goan voters and public for a ride, is to be believed with this clarification. The minister should read the advertisement and withdraw it first.
Today the public does not want to trust these politicians for their double talk and they get away fooling the voters for all the 5-year term. Goenkar and the traditional fishermen should be ready to unite, otherwise the Goans will forever lose the taste of the fresh river fish by making these rivers open for tourism. The outcome is very clear plunder of the environment, destruction of the minds of the young generation into drugs and violation of the noise pollution.
Gregory E Dsouza, Siolim
KTC on its 42nd year of services
Kadamba Transport Corporation in Goa is servicing the commuters for last 42 years and celebrated its 42nd anniversary. Chief Minister also insisted on nationalisation of routes in Goa. He also said that private bus operators will be participative in operation of buses in all the routes across the State. Goa being tourist place many look for bus services from the railway station and Airport. Konkan railway also plys buses from railway station but few as many private taxi operators and rickshaw operators are available. It is quite natural that common man will travel with cheapest mode of transport once he lands down even if he or she travels or flies by plane.
Once you reach destination one looks for transportation and only those with huge luggage opt for taxi. It’s welcome move by chief minister to nationalise the routes but at the same time provide good buses and discard or scrap old buses which are more than 20 years old.
There is need for good bus stand in major cities like Vasco, Margao and Mapusa. The traffic at Panjim near the petrol pump connecting from all sides requires a flyover from Merces which will divert to Panjim bus stand. Government should also give concession passes on Electric bus service as they charge extra Rs 5 being Air conditioner vehicle. EV buses are replaced in place of diesel buses as they are costlier but extra amount is charged in EV buses which is not logical.
Also CM assured of retention of jobs of existing employees working for KTC buses but should also generate new employment for youths who are computer savvy and more preference should be on E tickets.
Shuttle service should have enough space for parking as both Margao and Panjim buses operate in the space available. Hope KTC looks into this for better services.
Raju Ramamurthy, Vasco
Balancing between optimism & pessimism
Most will agree that optimism and pessimism are two sides of the same coin, let’s understand why? When you are excessively optimistic, you fail repeatedly as you try to achieve unrealistic goals. Soon the repeated failures make you pessimistic as a success recedes in your distant memory, with my experience, I would agree the best way to balance optimism and pessimism is by developing realism and lead a balanced and reasonable life.
Look at the example, if you observe a poor person, who can barely make his ends meet his or her way of speaking, body language, choice of words, morals, ethics are in sheer contrast with someone who has a reasonable amount of money to flaunt and has a decent life.
Mind you, both are humans and yet they seem so different in every aspect and are born into this unforgiving world in the same way. Also note, a positive person who expects negative outcomes, because of the past experiences, doesn’t expect good things, because of the fear that they might get hurt in the end, so it is a kind of defence mechanism. However, optimists refuse to put up with them, because such people are really good at stealing your peace of mind and pessimists come across as ‘negative’ because they focus on ‘reality’ and on other hand optimists are perceived as ‘positive’ because they focus on feel-good emotions.
To conclude, let’s look at the famous quote, “Optimism is a strategy for making a better future cause unless you believe that the future can be better, it’s unlikely you will step up and take responsibility for making it so. If you assume that there’s no hope, you guarantee that there will be no hope.” Not a fairy tale though, but so how true..
Gaston Dias, Sarzora
The most depressed country in the world
World’s leading developed nation, the United States, is one of the most depressed among all global countries that closely follows China and India. The Asian giants share the global burden of mental illnesses. Anxiety, schizophrenia and bipolar disorders dictate the mental health scene in India. It is predicted that the next decade will witness a surge in mental illnesses in India. The bare truth, however, is that very few Indians go to the doctors for getting treated for mental deviations because of “stigma” and lack of awareness.
Many symptoms are passed off as contributed by day-to-day “tension”. Unfortunately, the families of the affected individual fail to spot these disorders much to the detriment of the patient. Substance use disorders, like drug consumption and alcohol abuse, are ignored to the individual’s peril.
It is imperative to distinguish between “social drinkers” and “alcohol addicts” because alcohol is an important trigger for, as well as an offshoot of, many mental disorders. Women and the elderly need special attention as they are vulnerable to drug abuse and dementia respectively. Ironically, the number of psychiatrists in Asia is quite low as compared to some European countries.
Though India’s “psychiatrist: patient” population is hardly inspiring, unless the society readies itself for a sea change towards psychiatric patients, any number of increase in mental health institutes will come to nought. Of course, this is not to say that the government should abdicate its responsibilities.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
Pets allowed in aeroplane cabin?
Interesting to note that Akasa airlines is permitting dogs and cats to travel in the main cabin, subject to certain conditions being accepted. Understood that the CEO is a dog lover etc, and therefore allowed this so called concession.
Were the needs, feelings of other passengers considered? Shedding of fur may cause serious problems for asmatics, and others suffering from other allergies. What about barking? Unless the animal is to be muzzled throughout the flight. How long is the flight? Would it be fair to the animal, if say, the flight time is more than an hour?
These questions need to be answered, before making such decisions.
Louis Leo Fernandes, Caranzalem
