Linking Aadhaar to driving licence
The Central Government has issued a draft notification to link Aadhaar card with driving license and vehicle Registration Certificate (RC). It is understood that this linkage will eliminate the need for the general public to visit the Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in order to submit the relevant documents. Post these changes only a few people will have to visit RTOs to submit the documents for work related to the driving license, vehicles fitness among other works.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Besides reducing the footfalls at the RTOs, the move will also make the RTOs free from agents and touts and also curb forgery and end the menace of duplicate driving licences. The Aadhaar card details linked to the driving licence and Registration Certificate needs to be made available to the traffic cops on duty who can also check on the ownership of the vehicles and also keep a tag on under-aged persons driving without a valid driving licence.
The linkage will also help to keep a tag on stolen vehicles as the ownership of the vehicle can be immediately verified. This will go a long way in reducing the number of vehicular thefts which has witnessed a steep rise in the number of cases. The linkage could also make it easier to track stolen vehicles. It will be easier to find out the ownership of abandoned vehicles as also to verify the victim in case of an accident.
Adelmo Fernandes,
Vasco
Stop treating farmers as terrorists
Farmers protesting in extreme cold for more than 2 months are treated as terrorists by Govt with barricades, cutting off food, water, power, Internet, etc. All Indians and foreigners supporting them are branded as anti-nationals by Godi media. If foreign tweets supporting farmers is interference in India’s internal affairs, what about all the Indian tweets supporting Black lives matter movement in America? Does it make sense that foreigners were paid for their support tweets? After blocking Twitter, what next? Facebook, Whatsup, newspapers?
Why can’t Govt repeal these 3 laws now and after 3 years of consulting and convincing farmers and fixing loopholes bring laws really benefiting farmers? Why all this delay tactics, stubbornness, harassment, etc, to force these laws on farmers?
Godwin D’Costa,
by email
Is Goa going Uttarakhand way?
The Uttarakhand Glacier tragedy has been at the cost of climate change and lack of proper development. For years environmentalists have been crying themselves hoarse about the model of development being followed in these fragile mountain capes, and yet the advice was not heeded and the disaster now is a man made one.
We have childhood memories of incessant rains in Goa during our school days when it poured non-stop for even 8 to 10 days. But there was never ever such flooding all over like we are witnessing in recent years. The nature’s fury that the State has been facing has been predicted for years by our environmental scientists Dr Nandkumar Kamat and Dr Joe D’Souza but it has all fallen on deaf years with the authorities conveniently taking no corrective measures.
The colossal environmental degradation that Goa has been witnessing over the years by way of rampant destruction of hills, fragmentation of pristine vegetated verdant landscapes and ruthless chopping of trees by not even sparing from pouring concrete in the low lying fields has finally shown the impact of criminal interference in Goa’s age old natural ecosystems. The traditional drainage systems, waterways and outlets for natural flow of rainwater are choked all over with no functional drainage system in place.
Lack of proper planning while mushrooming of environmentally incompatible new constructions all over without the much needed infrastructure has landed Goa in a state of chaos. With political blessings the real estate mafia has swiftly enriched itself multifold while leaving the common man to face the brunt of their misdeeds. The farmers of Goa had never suffered so much at any point in the past. Nature is kicking back as they say.
If those in power do not take urgent corrective, well planned and sustainable measures to save the natural ecosystems, the god gifted landscape, the eco-sensitive beaches, sand dunes, Khazans, wetlands, Salt pans, the last remaining hills and farms, the orchards, rivers, estuaries, lakes, ponds, springs, fountains of Goa for protecting our ecology, we will have to face a bigger catastrophic disaster soon.
Goa has been a beautiful accident of history endowed with abundant resources. But the foolishness and rampant greed of those in power has brought this state to a stage in history when one day Mother Nature may crack the whip and Goa already threatened by the rising sea level, will simply be wiped out from the face of this planet.
Aires Rodrigues,
Ribandar
Carnival, a challenge during Covid
Goa is expected to witness another jammed weekend with the Carnival scheduled this Saturday followed by Valentine’s Day on Sunday. Owing to airlines operating their full roster of flights, interstate land travel near normal and @1270 hotels opening up for business ,things appear bright for the tourism sector. Goa is seeing an influx of low spending domestic visitors even on weekdays who typically spend a couple of days in budget guesthouses and provide some revenue to the liquor outlets and beach shacks.
That there is no mandatory Covid test required to enter Goa is driving people here who would have otherwise chosen conventional destinations like Kerala, Himachal Pradesh or Kashmir. Traditionally people prefer North Goa on account of it being more ‘buzzy’ but now a new trend has emerged of visitors dividing their time between North and South Goa. Well heeled travellers prefer hiring entire villas to enjoy the quietude and also to guard themselves from possible Covid infection.
The Carnival generates huge crowds with people packed like sardines all along the float parade route in Panjim and Margao. The government should detail additional police personnel besides the regular beat cops to enforce some semblance of distancing, as we have seen in the past. Tourists hardly bother wearing masks putting their own and others’ lives in peril; strict on-the-spot fines would act as an effective deterrent for such individuals.
Vinay Dwivedi,
Benaulim
Bicycle lanes in Bengaluru welcome
The recent move by the Government of Karnataka to introduce bicycle lanes on Race Course Road in the Central Business District of Bengaluru is welcome. The move comes at a time when eco-friendly and sustainable modes of transport through bicycles are gaining momentum across the world. Bicycles help to contribute to the environment and reduce traffic congestion to an extent. Bengaluru is now witnessing manifold vehicular traffic. The advent of space on roads is otherwise hampering bicyclists the right of way on the road.
Further, the authorities should extensively plan to develop more cycle lanes across the city including within the Central Business District. Schools and educational establishments should be advised to encourage their students to use bicycles extensively to commute to schools. As also the workplaces should encourage the use of bicycles under its Corporate Social Responsibility drives. The exodus of cyclists thus on the roads will otherwise compel the urban policymakers to create dedicated cycle tracks across all the parts of the city.
Varun Dambal, Bengaluru
