A way out!
Those Congress MLAs who could not legally split the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) without incurring disqualification, because they did not succeed in herding two thirds (8) into their group, have a way out with less number (more than half), viz. 6. Have a sitting, elect someone as their leader, intimate the Speaker, communicate to him that they have the majority in and hence are now the real CLP, and are backing the BJP. Who is the High Command to dictate terms to the CLP? The only requirement is that the latter has to be strong-willed and decided. About the disqualification move against Michael Lobo and Digambar Kamat, the less said the better. Have they left the Congress? Have they violated the whip in the Assembly? It is a haste driven move without application of mind.
Mousinho de Ataide, Saligao
Porvorim as State Capital
Panjim city has witnessed severe flooding this year. As a matter of fact, flooding during the monsoon has become an annual feature in the state capital. Citizens from across the State who head to Panjim for their official work, have to undergo great inconvenience. It must be said that Panjim city has reached its saturation point. Finding parking space is a huge problem. The city is bursting at its seam with the number of people visiting it increasing with every passing day. Tourists visit the casinos. Things get worse during the international events like the International Film Festival of India (IFFI). In the past there have been demands from certain quarters to declare Porvorim as the capital of Goa. Having Porvorim as the capital city of Goa, comes with several advantages. Porvorim is the de facto legislative and executive capital of the State as both the Goa Legislative Assembly and Secretariat are functioning from the same complex. Now with the Atal Setu bridge in place, it is easier to travel to and fro from Porvorim. Porvorim has outstanding connectivity to other important places of Goa through Mumbai-Goa Highway. The government offices in Panaji city are spread all over the city. This makes it difficult for the citizens to get their work done in quick time as they move from one office to another. All the important state government offices could be brought under one roof at Porvorim.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Demographic disaster
India is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation by 2023 according to a report by the ‘UN world population prospects 2023’, even as China’s demography has begun to dwindle. While China’s and India’s population stood in 1990 at 1114 million and 861 million respectively the gap has narrowed to the former’s 1426 million against the latter’s 1412 million. By 2050 we would have gone ahead of China in the mouths to feed. With global warming reducing crop harvest drastically and the India losing 15% of it’s potable water reserves due to intensifying temperatures it’s a very scary road ahead. At one time population was looked upon as a demographic dividend but with ethnic strife, immense strain on our natural resources, tanking economy, bigotry and rampant unemployment we are surely on the road to perdition. The exploding numbers are a ticking time bomb but for the ruling dispensation ignorance (deliberate) is bliss they are busy playing divide and rule. Bringing in legislation to curb population is the only way out, we have the Chinese example in front of us where the laws allowed only one child per family, then two followed by complete decontrol in 2016 as the population stabilized (in fact the Chinese government is encouraging people to have more children now to tackle their rapidly aging workforce who are unable to contribute to their gargantuan economy), financial benefits were also extended to smaller families. Disincentivisation eg. people with more than two children being ineligible to apply for government jobs certain Centre funded welfare schemes has to be brought in else we are headed for demographic disaster, the baby boom would inevitably lead to an economic bust. Can’t afford to keep our eyes wide shut anymore, we have to tackle the elephant in the room.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Disaster waiting to happen
This has reference to the article ‘The overburdened planet’ by Narvijay Yadav (Herald, 12 June 2022). That was a good informative report on the fast growing population in the world today. Yes, Yadav rightly states our planet is overburdened. It is bursting at the seams. Basic resources like food & water for sustaining life are fast dwindling. The world is already in turmoil on account of the pandemic and it is frightening to note that the world is turning upside down completely in the near future. Needless to say, we humans need to understand that there is a limit to everything. We need to take responsibility for our actions. We need to look at the population growth in our own country. Illiterate, uneducated people ought to be taught self-control. Social organisations could certainly help in this regard. One look at the labour class will reveal that they have more mouths to feed than the resources at their command. Just like spitting, it seems, producing children has become a pastime. We need to get our act together if we are to avoid becoming another Sri Lanka.
Melville X D’Souza, Mumbai
Control the population
On July 11, we celebrated World Population Day. World Population Day aims to increase people’s awareness on various population issues such as the importance of family planning, gender equality, poverty, maternal health and human rights. It is an annual event observed on July 11 every year which seeks to raise awareness of global population issues. The event was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989.
The governments of every country should come up with effective policies and schemes to control the growing population. If not controlled immediately, the ever-increasing world population will account for some unbearable adverse situations.
Jubel D’Cruz, Mumbai
Dangerous proposition
World Population Day is observed with various programmes with a view to have an overall control over the population all over the world and India is not an exception to this. The focal theme is meant for adopting family planning for up keeping the health status of mother and child’s health in a big way. When the same talk is opened up in India to control less than 135 crore population there is no concurrence from the people or from the political leaders. And given the current rate of growth, the population of India is expected to surpass that of China by the year 2023, ahead of the proposed increase by 2028 year end. This year’s World Population Day (July 11) falls during a milestone year, when we anticipate the birth of the Earth’s eight billionth inhabitant. This is an occasion to celebrate our diversity, recognise our common humanity, and marvel at advancements in health that have extended lifespan and dramatically reduced maternal and child mortality rates. All said and done we feel insecure with uncontrollable increase in population every year. It is indeed a dangerous proposition.
C K Subramaniam,
Navi Mumbai
