Call to path
of dialogue
The escalation in the Russian-Ukraine conflict is a matter of grave con-cern. In retaliation for the Crimea bridge explosion, Russia launched a barrage of fatal bombardments across Ukraine, killing 11 people.
Besides, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed even more severe at-tacks against Kyiv, even as the Russian military targeted Ukrainian ener-gy, military command, and communications facilities. Concerned over the escalating Russian attacks, India called for an immediate return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue.
N J Ravi Chander, Bengaluru
Free Goa’s roads from stray cattle
The stray cattle menace is that they squat on the highways and rural ways roads, reducing the carriageway and causing inconvenience to the motor-ing public and pedestrians mostly during early morning and after dusk compounded by weather.
Some years back the Government has said (taken decision) that the Goa’s roads will be free from stray cattle once the Goa stray cattle management scheme 2013 comes into force. It was framed to facilitate the impound-ing of cattle from all roads and the farmers have welcomed the decision. Now, the farmers say that the poultry food price has increased and there-fore they have set out their cattle to graze.
Years have passed and no sign of scheme coming into force. As the traf-fic police patrol on the highways and rural ways roads to book the viola-tors of MV Act, till, it not to impound but mandatory to clear the cattle away as a part under the violation of MV Act.
Babluis Pereira, Pomburpa
Bar owners to drop
drunks at home?
The Transport Minister announced that soon Goa will adopt a rule that owners of bars and pubs will be accountable if their patrons drink and drive and hence they need to send their patrons home in cabs. According to the minister, one of the causes of accidents is due to drunken driving and to minimise this, the new rule may be brought into force.
Customers are assets to bars and pubs and should not be a liability to the owners by getting sozzled and have to be taken home. Who would be re-sponsible if on the way home a customer complains of being robbed, molested, becomes serious or even kicks the bucket?
When a customer can go to a watering hole, he/she need to be capable of handling the drinks and responsible enough so as not to get drunk, drive and create problems for others. Let them hire the taxi themselves instead of putting the onus on the bar and pub owners.
A group of drinkers could have a designated driver amongst themselves. Presently, in most cases the drunken drivers are let off on bail even if an accident has caused deaths but the police need to book the drivers under culpable homicide and jail them.
If the Goa government is going to implement the rule then we could ex-pect schemes such as, “Drink large three, 20 km ride free,” and more such exciting offers! Hopefully the taxi driver will be sober enough to drop the customers at their homes.
Sridhar D’Iyer, Caranzalem
Restrict drinks to
counter drunk driving
It is learnt that the transport department will introduce a new norm in Goa where the bars and restaurants with high foot-falls should not allow their customers to drive back after drinking but to send them in a taxi. The customers can collect their vehicles the next day and that only those customers who are sober should be permitted to drive their vehicles.
This appears to be a good move. However, there are certain pertinent questions that arise. Who will pay the taxi-fare for dropping the custom-er back home? What if the customer who is drunk insists on driving back home in his own car? It could lead to a confrontation.
Will the bar owner be responsible for the safety of the car which has been left behind by the drunk customer? What if there are several cus-tomers who are not in a position to drive back home at a given point of time? Will the bar owner have to provide taxi service for all of them?
Probably the alternative way to stop drunken driving is for the bar owner to stop serving liquor to the customer who has had excessive drinks. Or one person in a group who will be driving the vehicle should be served limited drinks. But then whether the bar owner will impose such a re-striction is doubtful?
In any case not all get drunk in a bar and then drive. Many drink at late-night parties. Local tourists get drunk on the beach and even on the streets.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Does Goa’s Home Ministry exist?
In Goa our Home ministry is a total failure in each and every way. Our Chief Minister forgets that he is not only a Chief Minister of Goa but a Home minister too. Whenever he comes before the media he addresses the media persons as a chief minister every time and not as a home min-ister.
We cannot forget his irresponsible statements such as when Sidhi Naik’s body was found on the beach he said she died due to suicide and thus drowning. When Somali Phogat died he said she died due to heart attack. Last year he had said by November 2021 not a single pothole will be seen on the Goan roads.
Potholes are not only the same but gone worse and next November 2022 is about to come. Similarly he had also said that not a single record is available as the records went missing while shifting the record books from old sub-Register office to the new one. He had also said Goans need not worry about Covid because our immunity is good due to con-sumption of fish regularly.
There are many more such irresponsible statements of his which Goans got recorded in their gadgets. On daily basis, rapes, murders, accidents, kidnappings, land grabbing, hill cuttings, tourists driving vehicles on the beaches, drugs, everything is on the rise in the state. This shows the home ministry is a total failure in the State. So it’s the time we Goans should think and act accordingly.
Natividade Fernandes, Cavelossim
Stop using
firecrackers
With highest respect to the church and her authority I humbly appeal to the concerned people in Goa to please find a solution to the use of fire-crackers and sutli bombs during the different occasions celebrated at the various parishes in Goa.
I really feel proud as a Catholic when the priests advocate the need of protecting the environment and how the church guides the people to be devoted towards the protection of the environment. But at the same time we observe that there is a rampant use of fireworks, specially the fire-crackers and sutli bombs during novenas and feasts. It was a really a nice step taken by the church to stop using firecrackers during the visita-tion of our Lady at our homes in the parishes. It will also be a great step towards environmental protection, if we as Catholics completely stop using firecrackers and sutli bombs during the novenas and feasts too. The noise that is created along with the sickening smell of the firecrack-ers is really bad for the health of the people. And we all know this very well.
This is a humble request to all the parish councils around Goa to under-stand the matter and the seriousness of the damage we do to the environ-ment by using firecrackers in our celebrations. There are few who will object with the belief that it’s an age old tradition of celebrating feasts and occasions with loud noise of firecrackers.
Let us ask ourselves if it’s really necessary today, when we all are fighting this war against the global warming? Can we please lead by ex-ample?
Gustavo S Godinho,
Santbollem-Nagoa
