Dampner during festive season
Beef vanishing from the platter during the Christmas season is now a reality with beef shops closed over the weekend. This is so because suppliers of fresh beef from Belagavi, Karnataka could no longer supply them with the red meat.
It may be recalled that the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill (2020) was passed in the Karnataka assembly on December 9 without a discussion. According to the bill, there will be a complete ban on the slaughter of cows in Karnataka. The bill proposes stringent punishments to those held for smuggling, illegal transportation, atrocities on cows and slaughtering them which include imprisonment of minimum three years which can extend to seven years and a minimum of Rs. 50,000 penalty which could extend to Rs 5 lakh.
However on December 10, the Karnataka government deferred the enactment of the bill until the next legislature. Incidentally India is the second largest beef exporter in the world after Brazil. Beef happens to be the staple diet of several Goans.
It’s absence during the coming festive season will be felt not only by local beef-eaters but also by hotels and those in the hospitality industry. Though beef is also imported into the state from Maharashtra, the quantity is grossly insufficient to meet the daily needs.
The Goa government needs to take necessary steps to address the issue as there is a spurt in the number of tourists visiting the state.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Putting the cart before the horse
After a grand announcement by KTC of the introduction of electric buses on inter-state routes by Liberation Day, comes the classic backtracking by the government. The launch of these environment-friendly vehicles was postponed to Christmas and now January 2021 is being looked upon as a more plausible date (there is already a 7% project cost overrun).
The city fathers had not taken into account the prolonged monsoons which hampered the laying of electric cables, but worse still was the non commissioning of electric charging ports at the Margao depot which were scheduled for completion by December 15th by the Goa Energy Development Agency.This is a classic case of putting the cart before the horse, all stakeholders in the endeavour should have co-ordinated their efforts for timely completion which would have benefited daily commuters as well as the environment.
Another factor preying on the minds of the city fathers is the low passenger load factor witnessed on the recently reintroduced bus services with many people preferring personal vehicles for fear of the pandemic.
All said and done we hope that the electric buses shall be on the roads soon, even if they do not turn in profits initially, they would atleast keep some diesel guzzling polluting monsters of the KTC off the roads and help in a small way to reduce vehicular pollution in our beautiful state.Not everything needs to be looked at from a simplistic profit / loss perspective.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
May Aisha’s works be a guiding force
We have lost a very promising Goan with the death last week of Aisha de Sequeira. I never had the opportunity to meet her personally, but I had the privilege to know and closely interact for many years with her dad, Erasmo de Sequeira who represented Goa in Parliament and her grandfather, Dr Jack de Sequeira who was Goa’s first leader of the Opposition and the Father of the historic 1967 Opinion Poll which decided not to merge Goa with Maharashtra.
Aisha was married to Roy son of late Fitz de Souza who was an outstanding lawyer in Kenya and went on be member of the Kenyan Parliament. Fitz who was a great Goan passed away at London in 23rd March this year.
To those who had the privilege to know Aisha more closely they all speak so affectionately about her warm and loving nature and for being a great person and for being a caring and loving wife and mother to her husband Roy and her three sons. Aisha just loved Goa, her birthplace.
Aisha, a leading star in the world of finance and investment, achieved extraordinary success academically and professionally with Morgan Stanley for 25 years and was a real inspiration to many. As co-head of Morgan & Stanley, India and a regular on Fortune India’s list of 50 most powerful women in business, Goa has lost a great daughter with her so premature death.
Whilst we are all saddened by her untimely return to her heavenly abode, let us all be grateful and appreciate the rich legacy she leaves behind. May her determined work, extraordinary success and wonderful warm personality besides humbleness be a source of inspiration and motivation to the younger generation. May Aisha’s life and works be a guiding hope for others to emulate.
May Aisha, our brilliant daughter of Goa rest in eternal peace. Sincere heartfelt condolences to her grieving family and close associates.
Aires Rodrigues,
Ribandar
All historic places must be preserved
This has reference to the news ‘Govt to conserve historic sites’ (Herald, Dec 14). It is good to know that the government of Goa has decided to identify, refurbish and preserve every place linked to the historicaly significant events including the liberation of Goa, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Goa’s Liberation.
The chief minister of Goa has stated that all such historic places in the State will be identified, beautified and conserved for the future. That’s good, in fact, all historic events across the country should be properly mapped and preserved for future generations. Like the BMC in Mumbai has now started the work of restoration of the British Era Heritage milestones which have been forgotten over the years.
All historic places whether they were built by the British, Portuguese, Moguls, Marathas, etc., should be preserved for posterity. Rather than rewriting History we should relearn our History.
Melville X. D’Souza,
Mumbai
Are farm laws misread?
Farmers continue their warpath against recently passed farm laws. Political leaders are misleading people on farm laws to fulfill their own agenda. The protests have prompted a flurry of misinformation online, shared by politicians from across party lines, and by individuals both for and against the farmers.
Some comments in reaction to the post claim the farmers’ protest is being exploited by groups with other agendas, such as the Kashmir dispute or independence for Sikhs in the state of Punjab. The government has been firm that the new laws are going to bring an ecosystem that will give farmers the freedom of choice to sell and purchase their produce inter-state and intra-state.
Farmers across the country are apprehensive that if the new bills become law, they will not get the MSP they have been demanding from the government for months, as the proposed legislation does not specify any method of determining the “guaranteed price” farmers will get.
K.G.Vilop,
Chodan
