PDS of essential commodities
I am an APL category ration card holder. I am fairly overage with the result the thumbs are worn out and it becomes difficult to get thumb impression matching to the Aadhaar Card impression. This happens possibly at Ration Shop i.e. Cansaulim, Arossim Cuelim Society Shop. Whereas many a times, when I went to Margao head office on the big screen the impression matches. I feel that the apparatus provided to the Society is either over used or does not function properly. Thus many elderly people have to suffer without ration. Or it may be that the clerk at the ration shop is overburdened and hence has no time to apply her mind properly. The end result is that the elderly card holders suffer. Here the question arises why the signature of a person is not given any importance. In any official government work the first thing that is expected is the signature of a person and only when a person illiterate the question of thumb impression is taken. Why this double standard when it comes to collecting a paltry ration of kilos a month? The government has to look into this anomaly and set the system right. Cansaulim, Arossim and Cuelim area is vast and cannot be serviced by a single Society. As a matter of fact a few years back we had a private fair price shop at Arossim where the entire area was serviced and everything was running smoothly. Now the monopoly is with Cansaulim Society. People are facing difficulties as explained above. I expect the new panchayat body to invite a private party to open a fair price shop at Arossim. So also to have another fair price shop will be helpful in Cuelim and surrounding areas. Here again it will be appropriate to mention about the tur dal wastage as reported in yesterday’s Herald edition. Similarly, how many tonnes of food grains may be rotting in the godowns of Food Corporation of India? Is there any check on these godowns? Hence harassing the card holders for non match of the finger impression is not fair. I hope the authorities concerned with take due action at the earliest.
Antonio F Fernandes, Arossim
Frequent power outages
I decided to pen down this letter to express my own and that of many of the residents staying in the society complex to manifest our absolute resentment against constant power outages experienced every day throughout the year.
Mr Ramkrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar soon after taking over as Power Minister in the BJP government was prompt and bold enough in revising upwards the rates of electricity consumed by the households and commercial establishments in Goa by mentioning several reasons to justify his unpopular action without even bothering to give any firm assurance to the consumers that constant daily power interruptions would be done away or considerably reduced to a bare minimum.
It’s unbelievable that with so much of advancement in science and technology the nation that prides itself of so many extraordinary achievements in its 75 years of Independence, is still struggling to supply uninterrupted power supply to its citizens. Unfortunately these outages and fluctuations not only cause untold inconvenience and frustration to the people but also damage costly electronic and electrical appliances without there being any mechanism to receive any compensation from the Power Department for any damage. However, they are burdened with hefty monthly bills which are to be paid on due dates or face the scourge of quick disconnection of power supply.
The voters of Goa, who even ignored a political party that had campaigned on the promise of providing 300 units of free electricity per month and uninterrupted power supply 24X7, preferred to re-elect BJP government but are now utterly shocked and disappointed due to the unjustified and unpopular action from the Power Minister.
If one keeps a daily count of constant interruptions and fluctuations in the supply of electricity one easily can state that they have become more frequent and directly proportional to the increase in rates.
How long Goans will have to bear this callous attitude of Power Ministry?
Antonio Diniz, Fatorda
Promote production of clay idols
It is learnt that the Excise Department in Goa has reportedly directed all its inspectors at the borders to take action to prevent the entry of vehicles with Plaster of Paris (PoP) Ganesh idols into the State. Ganesh idols from neighbouring areas such as Kolhapur, Sawantwadi and Pune in Maharashtra and Belagavi and Karwar are normally imported into Goa during Ganesh Chaturthi. PoP idols are light in weight, have better colour finishing and shine than the heavy traditional Goan idols made from clay. However, the Goa government has banned the immersion of PoP idols as these when immersed do not dissolve or disintegrate fast, thereby causing irreversible environmental effects on the coastal ecology or the ecosystem of any water body. Unlike clay, PoP idols take months to dissolve. Studies have linked PoP exposures to diseases or abnormalities in a number of wildlife species, including certain kinds of fish, birds and mammals. It is pertinent to note that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has banned the use of Plaster of Paris, thermocol and single-use plastic to make or decorate idols, while promoting the use of eco-friendly materials for the same. The Goa government needs to promote the production of clay idols which is a dying art kept alive by family traditions.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
The idea of India
We, as a nation have turned 75 today. It’s time to ‘I’ntrospect and focus on the ‘I’ in India, I for individual and I for institutions. Independent India gave every individual the right to vote and created one institution with a narrow remit, the Election Commission, for this purpose and democracy took deep roots. Independent India created many other bodies with expanding remits and socialism and its attendant perversions also took deep roots which are frustratingly difficult to remove. That the world’s largest democracy and the fastest growing major economy is merely a lower middle income country on its 75th birthday is in part because of these flawed policies. Reforms beginning 1991 partly corrected this colossal mistake and for millions of Indians the results have been life changing.
The old economy saw an entrepreneurial transformation and a flourishing new middle class emerged. But individuals are still fettered by numerous badly run institutions. An understaffed judiciary has become an economic growth constraint thanks to sweeping economically irrational rulings. An understaffed and barely accountable bureaucracy still rules over an empire of ‘permissions’ and
‘clearances’ and the political system is fundamentally incapable of correcting the first two wrongs because politics is becoming even more focussed on collectives, not individuals. When votes are sought by invoking communities, castes, linguistic groups whether by rhetoric or rewards, neither individuals nor institutions need to be priority areas. That’s why even in a brutally competitive electoral system politicians get away by spending too little to provide quality education or healthcare to individuals.
This Independence Day, let us take a pledge to support only individuals who are really doing something for the nation’s benefit and not taken in by the empty rhetoric of windbags masquerading as leaders, believe me they are a dime a dozen across the political spectrum.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
