Dangers of roadside food stalls
I am writing to express my concern about proliferation of roadside food outlets while roadside digging is underway. The roads all around the State are dug up without proper planning or coordination. This issue has become increasingly prevalent in the Capital City as well as some urban hotspots, and it poses a significant safety hazard. Not only do these food outlets take up valuable space on the side of the road, but they also create distraction for drivers and can block the view of oncoming traffic for pedestrians.
Furthermore, the constant digging and excavation work on the side of the road is already a cause for concern, and adding food stalls to the mix only exacerbates the situation. Dust, debris and other hazards can contaminate the food and make it unsafe to eat. It is important that we prioritise the safety of our community and take steps to address this issue. Roadside hawkers often lack proper sanitation and hygiene facilities, which can lead to the spread of disease and illness. This can be especially dangerous during road construction, when dust and debris from the excavation can contaminate food and water.
We need to ensure that proper regulations are in place to protect the safety and health of our community. The city Corporation needs to implement stricter regulations on the placement of roadside food outlets, and consider alternate locations for these businesses to operate. Zoning laws can be used to restrict the placement of food stalls near road constructions sites. This will not only improve safety on our roads, but it will also help to maintain the aesthetic of our community.
Vaman Shyam Sankhalker, Harvalem
Mind blowing ‘Lokotsav’
Beautiful Amone-Poinguinim, has made a mark for local visitors, Indian and global tourists to remember until another similar festival is showcased at such a high scale.
Hats off to Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly, Ramesh Tawadkar, the president of Adarsh Yuva Sangh and his esteemed team for having put together a mind blowing festival “Lokotsav”, exhibiting folk crafts, artisans, music, dance, sports, colourful exhibition of art, antiques, herbal medicines, local produces and marvel of products. The artistes not only from Goa but from different States across India exhibited their art and culture.
Thousands drove to Amone, where there was no need to use navigator to reach the destination once one entered Canacona. One had to drive on the beautiful zigzag road covered with greens as guided by signage, where all were welcomed with drum beats and blowing of musical instruments, patriotic singing, fancy dress, folk dance, screening of short films, etc. Different stages were set to accommodate 200 to 1000 seats where variety of back to back programmes including cultural performances kept the visitors upbeat.
School students to various group artists were given opportunities to show their work, help educate people about art, society, history and other cultures
Let’s conclude with a quote: Art is a necessity, an essential part of our enlightenment process. We cannot, as a civilised society, regard ourselves as being enlightened without Art, which is an international language, understood by all – let’s try and take it to the next generation for them to follow, we should!
Gaston Dias, Sarzora
Implement Advocates Protection Act
Recent the act of police brutality against the Advocate by Porvorim cops caused widespread rage among lawyers. We strongly condemn the brutal unprovoked attack on lawyer. An assault on a lawyer is an assault on the judiciary. The perpetrators should be dismissed and prosecuted. This is an alarming situation and causing discrepancies in rendering professional services to their clients. It may also result in a law and order situation and sometimes causes obstruction and deficiencies in rendering professional services by advocates to their clients. It is not the job of the police to meddle with civil disputes and the police have no role to play in it, but have to interfere if there is any law and order situation. The government must take note of all such incidents of attacks on lawyers. The lawyers have the right to take part in public discussion of matters concerning law, the administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights. They shall have the right to join or form local, national or international organisations and attend their meetings without suffering professional restrictions. The lawyers shall always conduct themselves in accordance with the law and the recognised standards and ethics of the legal profession. The State government should implement Advocate Protection Act so that lawyers could discharge their legal duties without fear. Advocates play a quintessential role in the pursuit of justice in this country, but often they face indefinite hurdles in their endeavours. And number of such incidents necessitated the need to bring the Advocates’ Protection Act for the welfare of advocates.
K G Vilop, Chorao
Dangers of slamming face on birthday cake
An integral part of any birthday celebration happens to be the cutting of the birthday cake. It is observed that many-a-times as part of the celebrations upon cutting the cake the face of the person celebrating the birthday is slammed on the cake. This act is fraught with danger. The risks of messing around with the cake in the spur of the moment cannot be overstated. Playing with cake is one thing, however playing with cake forcefully is where things can and do go wrong. Normally people would assume cakes are just fluffy food made of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs. But bakers would know better. In multi-layered cakes sharp wooden spikes could be embedded to hold the different pieces together. This is true with customised cake designs and can cause injuries. Even a single lit candle on the birthday cake could prove dangerous for the eye in case the face is smashed on the cake. Nowadays birthday cakes have a lot of creamy topping. This cream can enter the air passage of the one whose face is slammed on the cake and choke the person. Again after slamming on the cake the face can even hit the hard table surface and knock the person out cold. It would hence be advisable to avoid such a celebratory act of slamming the face into the birthday cake.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Technology helps in modes of treatment
Tech-based mode of care and treatment is the way forward in the 21st Century. I am happy that the future of health is shaping up. In a complicated surgery, it is technology that guides the surgeons and makes their job easier as the surgery’s success is not guaranteed when it comes to high risks.
It is great to know that fight against cancer is gaining momentum. I hope there is advance technology to detect and predict cancer at an early stage for cure or save lives. If so, cancer will not be as scary. Medical technology should constantly shape our responses to ailments and recovery. Centre and State governments should strive for a health care system that comes at low costs but also gives the best possible results. A large chunk of our country’s population is unable to take advantage of the available health care system because of no approachable roads and transport to their houses in far flung villages.
I also feel bad when violence is unleashed on doctors and other hospital staff. Doctors go through a lot of pressure, but they need to be trained to handle difficult situations. I have seen many hospital staff being rude to patients and bystanders. This is seen more in government hospitals and needs to be addressed. It will also help doctors if they deal with preliminary enquires over WhatsApp and applications to tide over the rush in hospitals.
Diomedes Pereira, Corlim
