Dining with Dalits, flavour of the season
It appears as if dining with Dalits is the flavour of the season in poll bound UP. Pictures of the UP CM sitting down for a meal with a member of the backward caste were broadcast across electronic media, also an MP from the ruling party was shown in a similar setting.
It doesn’t take long to fathom that the desertion by many OBC MLAs and ministers to join a rival party has triggered the ruling party’s sudden ‘love for the underprivileged’ media blitz and subsequent photo ops. When in power no one gives two hoots about the poorer sections of society but come election time and our neta’s hearts begin overflowing with the milk of human kindness; the OBCs are dutifully paraded by the mantris before the pliant media to burnish their pro poor credentials, the subtext of this charade is of course “please vote for us.”
High time that the people stop themselves from being taken for a ride by these fake yogis, fakirs and self proclaimed defenders of the faith and voted for people who have truly devoted their lives to the welfare of the have-nots.
Rekha Sarin, Benaulim
Online church services necessary
Considering a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases across the State and in view of the restrictions imposed by the authorities concerned, the masses on the feast day of St Joseph Vaz, which was celebrated on January 16, was live-streamed on You-Tube channel as well as the Diocesan You-tube channel and CCRTV.
It is understood that several parishes across the State including the St Anthony’s Church at Siolim will remain closed and the services will be streamed online. It may be recalled that at the peak of the second wave in 2021, all the churches had stopped conducting services in the physical mode and the faithful were following the services online.
During the third wave the infection is spreading much more rapidly hence it would be in the fitness of things for churches in Goa to resort back to online masses. It may not be proper to leave the decision on online masses to individual parishes as the taluka-wise or city-wise daily figure of positive Covid-19 cases is not available. It is said that God helps those who help themselves. The Bible says “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (Luke 4-12).
The need of the hour is to arrest the infection as the virus is spreading at an alarming rate. The present infection may be mild, however, following the church services from the safety of one’s home is always a better option as compared to being quarantined at home after being tested Covid-19 positive.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Green shield against climate catastrophe
Barring Kerala and Uttarakhand, Goa has the third highest per hectare growing stock of forest cover which indicates a highly sustainable and productive woodland regeneration. This would also help us mitigate destructive climate change by acting as a carbon sink to neutralise pollution caused by industries, human activity and vehicles. Forests act as effective, natural brakes to climate change by sequestering and storing more carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem. Data scientists have predicted temperatures rising by @ 2°C and rainfall reducing by @ 30% come 2030; just eight years from now if our forest cover continues to be depleted at this rate.
It is also heartening to note that Goa’s mangrove cover has doubled to 27 sq. km. over the past 13 years, mangroves are repositories of rich biodiversity and shield coastal zones from adverse tidal and other marine action.
It is extremely important to encourage and incentivise year round plantation activities at village level and also to formulate a National Forests Policy for appropriate management and effective conservation of our green wealth for they are the only shields which stand between us and the impending, irreversible climate catastrophe.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Keep ‘defection poli-trick’ in mind
Defection has a poor taste in Goa, where innocent electorates vote for their trusted candidate or their party are only used for vested interest. One the other hand, candidates after winning the heart of the voters by sweet talking or offering a green envelope, freebies or at times act omnist to build faith to somehow get elected – but have a hidden agenda of ‘Defection’ for a big booty or a ministry post to form a self-centred government and the electorates having no choice have to hang their heads for the next 5 years. Do you think the legislators care? We have recently witnessed the wholesale business without any self respect; the way some parties have back-stabbed their loyals shamelessly in an unethical manner for their own interests, leaving the loyalist in a limbo.
One wonders, if the turn-coats just realised that they were sitting in the wrong party for last 5 years, after selfishly benefiting and developing their own self to leave and join another party when election is around the corner – what does this tell you?
Or is there any doubt in Goans’ mind to a setting between two parties as A and B team with the defections theory plan – possible! However, it is important to note that time and again such behaviour has impacted the course of democratisation and good governance. For Goa and Goans, 2022 election is extremely volatile and confusing with more than required parties on the ground with some defected candidates standing as independents.
Gaston Dias, Sarzora
Goans and financial freedom paradox
Financial freedom usually means having enough savings, financial investments, cash on hand and perhaps even Real Estate, to afford the kind of life (even luxuries) that we desire for ourselves and our families. It means growing savings that enable us to retire or pursue the career we want without being driven by earning a set salary each year. The latter should be common sense for people/Goans, to do the things they love, travel, enjoy life, have a healthier and better quality of life.
Not to mention that it can certainly upgrade their children to a better quality of life by not having them struggle un-necessarily for income (as their parents did) and their next generation can focus on doing things they love. This sort of life of financial freedom is dreamt of, by billions across the world but very few achieve it and many fail trying to achieve!
Many Gulf Goans took advantage of the Gulf Boom, worked very hard, created enough savings, big good houses, other assets and have actually achieved this state of financial freedom.
This state of financial freedom can also give the opportunity to significantly upgrade the skill sets of their children at a relatively better cost in Goa/India (which has also good educational establishments at the fraction of the cost abroad). Then after comes the very strange thing: After achieving financial freedom many Goans take most of all this wealth and migrate abroad, where the costs of living are substantially much higher and in most cases they/children get stuck back in the daily tough job routine, working for years doing things they do not like with a very limited chance to obtain financial freedom again in their adopted countries!
I certainly can understand if there are exceptions but the sad part is that the large number of Goans emigrating in my point of view is more of a “herd mentality”. My only advice as someone who has lived abroad for many years, is just to do one’s own homework and consult professionals/experts in understanding pros/cons of migrating permanently and then accordingly take your own decision.
Arwin Mesquita, Colva
