Mormugao incident unacceptable
Yet another shameful incident occurred at Mormugao Port on Wednesday as over 100 high-end American tourists had a harrowing time when the taxi union created a hostage like situation by first making the tourists walk out a km and then prevented their entry into the coaches kept ready for their site visit. The frustrated and confused tourists had to sadly forego their valuable pre-booked tour of Goa. Why was the police force not available to control the situation? In the words of the tour operator, Francis Vaz, “What is the use of building crew terminals if the entire industry is left in the hands of these goons?”
Enough is enough and the State authorities should stop bending backwards to the whims and fancies of these taxi unions which have been dictating their terms to the government of the day which has been unable to take control of this small group of self-employed individuals who protest at every step to have their own way, even preventing the use of taxi Apps which are prevalent in every nook and corner of the world. Do they have a false notion that they are one of the biggest employers of Goa’s citizens and can have their own way always?
Goa is dependent on tourism to a large extent and these taxi drivers could be first ambassadors when one touches the Indian/Goan soil. As it is due to their behaviour all along, Goa carries a bad name on social media. How far will it go? These cruise ship passengers are a desired lot at every port for the revenue and value they bring in and here we have these unruly taxi operators killing the golden goose. This incident will not be taken lightly by other cruise operators and the State will bear the brunt for the kid-gloves treatment extended to the taxi operators all along.
Alwyn M D’Sa, Miramar
Messi: The magician
Lionel Messi has been in the form of his life in the FIFA 2022 World Cup. The Argentine superstar has made a huge impact in this World Cup by scoring goals and providing assists in every game so far. The semi-final between Argentina and Croatia was expected to be a hard-fought and a contest of eveners. But Messi, the magician, made it a lop-sided one for Argentina with a score-line of 3-0. The third goal, in particular, was sensational. Although the goal was scored by the Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez, it was the mercurial Messi who set it up nicely with his astonishing dribbling skills through a 40-metre sprint on the right wing that totally stumped and confounded the young defender Josko Gavardiol of Croatia. It seems Messi has been scientifically destined to be the greatest dribbler of a football! I watched the video of this dribble at least a dozen times, and I still couldn’t satiate my hunger of watching it more. Can Messi replicate his thaumaturgy skills against France in the finals and lift the World Cup for Argentina after 36 years? The entire world, especially fans in India, who are utterly mad of Messi, are waiting with bated breath for this extraordinary moment to transpire.
Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai
Put a lid on acid attacks
A 17–year–old, 12th standard girl was attacked with acid in the national capital on Wednesday by two hooligans masquerading as college students. Luckily the young girl has survived the heinous attack. Like the Delhi girl, many women who have survived acid attacks have lived with grit, courage, dignity and determination proving their will power cannot be destroyed by meek sadists.
Though the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has said that there is a downhill in acid attack incidences in India over the last three years, one cannot overlook the fact that there is a large gap between acid attack incidences and police chargesheets. The conviction rate in such dastardly crime should be made public; Section 326(A) of the IPC provides for a punishment of not less than 10 years that may extend to imprisonment for life with or without fine.
Also, governmental efforts to supplement the brave acid survivors are meagre. In 2013, the Supreme Court had directed the States to allow only select stores to sell acid, and ensure there was no over the counter business of acid. Further, governments were asked to make sure that both the sellers and the buyers possessed valid licences. One cannot say that the States have not taken stock of the situation.
But it is also true that the top court order has not been implemented with utmost seriousness. Then there is the callous neglect on the part of the States to provide compensation to acid attack victims. Money cannot buy peace, but monetary help will go a long way in immediate reimbursement of medical expenses so vital for the victim.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
Of corruption & criminality in politics
The candidates standing for elections in India file an Asset Declaration with the Election Commission in which they list their property and other assets that stand in their name. This practice has been in force for quite some years now. In the latest Assembly elections, among the MLAs declared elected, more than 80% crorepatis were found in both the Gujarat & Himachal Pradesh Assemblies. At the same time 22% of these MLAs had criminal cases against them in Gujarat while in Himachal Pradesh 41% had criminal cases against them. This is the pattern across India with the figures deteriorating as you go through the Hindi belt of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Now, one cannot understand if the candidates regularly file Asset Declarations, then surely these are not for record purposes and some action is expected against them. Why the Election Commission does not refer these for investigation to the Income Tax Department to find out if these assets were acquired through their declared source of income or are disproportionate and have been illegally acquired, is anybody’s guess? In the same manner many a time we have been told that candidates with criminal cases should not be allowed in our Legislatures, but nothing is being done in this regard. There needs to be legislation brought in disallowing candidates with criminal cases from standing for elections. This will hopefully cleanse our Legislatures from disreputable characters.
Srinivas Kamat, Alto St Cruz
Accident deaths by minors
Accident fatalities/deaths caused by minors are on the rise with many innocent people losing their lives! Question is how serious is the Goa government in addressing this serious problem? It is not enough just being reactive once the accident occurs like punishing the guardians/parents or whichever adult is responsible! Why can’t the lawmakers and the ministers concerned, think outside the box and look at prevention in the first place?
For instance, one area is cracking down on unauthorised minors driving vehicles and one major way the traffic cops can do this, is getting out early morning on Goan roads and monitoring school students on bikes. Of course, the traffic police would need proper legislation from the Goa government to severely punish the adults responsible which I think should include steep fines and vehicle confiscation. It is not rocket science for the government to reduce the fatalities in this regard. It just requires some competence and serious concern for the common man; by the respective ministers/authorities in charge.
Arwin Mesquita, Colva
Politicisation of the police
The Police Act, 1861, vests the superintendence of the police directly in the hands of the political executive – the State government. At the present time, the Head of Police (Director General/ Inspector General) enjoys her/his tenure at the pleasure of the Chief Minister. She/he may be removed from the post at any time without assigning any reasons. Such a state of affairs has resulted in wide-spread politicisation of the police where increasingly, allegiance is owed not to the law but to the ruling political elite. The pervasiveness of this influence over the rank and file, as much as senior police officers in ways that are not keeping with police regulations means that there is lesser obedience to the law, chain of command and established procedures.
A.J de Souza , Calangute
