Goa getting into news
for wrong reasons
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Few years ago when a number of crimes against foreign tourists to India were reported, the Govt of India started a campaign with the tag line Atithi Devo Bhava appealing to our people to treat tourists with the same respect as god and to develop a sense of responsibility towards our guests. It did have some effect initially.
In Goa too, we had a number of cases of crime against foreign tourists where they were cheated, robbed and even raped. The police do act against such crimes but we cannot say Goa is free of such crimes. Very recently it has been reported that a criminal group in Anjuna approach foreign tourists, plant drugs in their bags and then someone dressed as a cop tells the tourists that they are suspects.
The victim is then asked to hand over cash, credit card etc. Some Japanese tourists are reported to have been victims of such crime with the result that the Consulate General of Japan has issued an advisory to its tourists to take care when going to Anjuna beach in Goa.
This is a matter of shame for Goa even though the gang may not be of Goans. The authorities should nab this group and come down heavily on such crimes before Goa’s image is tarnished for good.
Rodney de Souza, Assagao
This Valentine’s day
show love for pets too
There was a time in the past when Valentine’s Day meant a day to show love only between lovers, engaged and newly married couples. It is no longer so. Now Valentine’s Day is an occasion to express love for family members, friends and even pets. Pet animals form an integral part of the family in several homes. Dogs and cats are the most common types of pets kept in homes. Dogs are faithful to their owners. They shower unconditional love on their master. It is said that the dog is the only animal which loves a human more than itself. Cats too make for good pets. However people do keep a variety of other animals as pets as well. Pets make our lives more meaningful. Hence they should be showered with love at all times. Many pet lovers even celebrated the birthday of the four-legged occupant of their home. Valentine’s Day is a day set aside to show love to those who mean a lot including pet animals. Hence it would be in the fitness of things to celebrate this day of love with one’s pet along with the other family members and loved ones. The pet animal could be treated to a special meal which is it’s favourite. On Valentine’s Day, it could be taken out for a long drive and spend some time in the open or on the beach. Buy a new fun toy for the pet. Make your pets know that they are loved also.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Let’s hug our own
family members first
The Animal Welfare Board of India which had earlier issued a notice urging cow lovers to hug cows on February 14 (the day celebrated as Valentine’s Day across the world) has now withdrawn the same following directions from the government and after coming under severe attack from different quarters on social media.
Looks like the individuals from the AWBI who were planning to discourage couples from celebrating and hugging each other on this year’s Valentine’s Day by making them hug cows instead must have finally realized that their call would definitely flop big time and would have no real takers in India.
I think that such senseless individuals should henceforth advise people to hug their own family members i.e grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters etc at home instead of asking them to hug some animals to further their own agendas and making them fools for no reason by coming out with such funny ideas.
Jerry Fernandes, Saligao
Excellent job
India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) successfully rescuing a six-year-old girl from under the rubble in quake-torn Turkiye is nothing short of a miracle. The NDRF also saved the girl’s father, Soner Guner, by pulling him out of the ruins of their home. The grateful man acknowledged their help by whispering, “I love you all”. Syria and Turkey have been devastated by a monster earthquake which has claimed over 19,000 lives. Although rescuers continued their gallant efforts, it would be a race against time to pull out more survivors.
N J Ravi Chander, Bengaluru
Change of place –
come to think of it
All the health test reports we have been going through these days confirm one fact — that we are made of earth; the chemical composition of the human body and of the soil appears to be very much similar; so we have evolved from the earth; probably for the same reason, when we relocate to a new place, we tend to have some disorder in our body, because the chemical composition of the soil over there might be different from that of the soil and the air we breathe at the place of our origin.
Our doctors call it a “change of place”; in some cases, the “change of place” could be very helpful in healing our health disorders, and in some places the change of place could become an issue for us. Let us all think of life as a Roman in Rome.
C K Ramanathan, Ghaziabad
Women in science
Women lag behind their male counterparts in world research in terms of participation and contribution. But in terms of research quality in science, women are second to none. Studies on the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) reveal that girls are underrepresented in these as they grow. A little less than thirty per cent of the technology researchers are women – considering the qualities of head and heart of women, the trend is a little disturbing though not shocking.
The aptitude is there, but the sustainment seems to be missing. It is not that men are inferior to women, but the recruitment policies are not very favourable and flexible towards women.
The sustainable development goals of the United Nations stand threatened when women-participation in STEM is low. In many countries, including India, there are more girl school dropouts than boys, and the end–result is obvious.
The real target should be the rural world where girls suffer from an abject lack of education and awareness. Education cannot be tightly wrapped in a shell; there is no end to learning. Teachers should put greater stress on “learning” than “jobs”, “inquisitiveness” than “mugging up”, “intellect” than “grades”.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
Rescue operation
need to be lauded
Realising the enormity of the tragedy that has struck Turkey and Syria, it is laudable that the Indian government has risen to the occasion without delay, has rushed relief materials and human support for the people in distress.
As this is one of the most cruel, worst and unexpected natural calamities the world has faced which has led to the death of thousands of innocent people and loss of properties, all nations should come together burying their animosities and see that all help is rendered to the people of the two affected nations.
It is great that India has taken the lead in this regard.
Yvonne Fernando, Chennai
