Florence of Seraulim
Angelica Caldeira e da Costa, hailing from the quaint village of Seraulim, passed away on the 12th of May 2023. She was the widow of the noted freedom fighter Fabião Costa from Seraulim. Late Fabião took part in the famous Satyagraha and was a great supporter and friend of the late Ram Manohar Lohia. Fabião was arrested by the Portuguese and incarcerated in the Aguada jail for 5 years leaving behind his wife and young children, the youngest being a toddler.
Angelica had to do lots of sacrifices to bring up the young children, at the same time covertly support the ideology of her husband. Angelica used to visit her husband Fabião at Aguada jail, while kissing goodbye, she used to secretly push a chit of paper in his mouth giving him the news of what used to happen in and around Goa regarding the freedom movement, the scene was much like a modern day spy thriller.
Angelica was a very elegant and good looking lady, who would care for the sick patients. She was brave and active and cheerful till her last days. Indeed this is an example for the new generation to follow.
Agnelo Furtado, Chinchinim
Why infighting in the party every time?
For several years, whenever the Congress party won an election, there was a competition among them for the prized post of CM. And they are experiencing the same difficulty after their recent assembly election victory in Karnataka. The conflict involves two big leaders Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar. Both leaders are now intent on cornering the position of CM come what may. Since DK has stated that he will not share the term of office, how the Congress party will react in this issue remains to be seen.
We all know that there are various leaders in the Congress party, and those leaders are competing for the highest position. And other MLAs are also backing them up so that they can receive a good slice of the pie. This event has occurred numerous times in Goa and other states. In exchange, the other party takes the initiative, buys the infighting leaders, and destabilises the people’s mandate.
Now the question is, why don’t the leaders of the elected government hear the party President’s words? If you do not respect the statements of the Party President, you cannot be a member of the party; you must quit and run for office in another party. Party observers must also take harsh action against leaders who do not listen to them, otherwise, this would become routine, and the people’s mandate will be useless. The people did not elect you to fight amongst yourselves, but to serve the people’s interests.
Aurelio Viegas, Chinchinim
Stop infighting
The big victory of the grand old party in Karnataka made it’s leaders chest thump as they took on the mighty BJP and routed them everywhere in the state except for some regions. But unfortunately this chest thumping has turned to chest beating as the leaders have started fighting for CM and ministerial posts, changing the complete celebration scenario into one of confusion.
This shows the party in bad light as it gives the commoners a bad impression of the party. Just after the victory, it’s leaders predicted that the party will become triumphant at the 2024 Lok Sabha election too. Doubts arise now when people see such street fights happening in the party and this is where the party and it’s leaders fail.
The poll results show that the voters wanted a change for the better and though it did happen the party and it’s leaders have not changed! They have to prove that they do not lack a strong leadership at the helm. They have to sort out all the issues and be ready to serve the people. Infighting among leaders and the cadres of various groups within the party can only lead to the masses distrusting and doubting the party’s calibre. Such power struggles and verbal duels are sure to tarnish the image of the party, rather than catapulting it as an alternative to the saffron brigade.
M Pradyu, Kannur
Stop travel perks for politicians’ families
When Presidents, Prime Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers, Ministers holding important portfolios, Ambassadors et al. of most countries travel, within or outside their countries, they are accompanied by their spouses and even by close family members. What purpose does it serve to take spouses and others along when a politician is busy meeting his/her counterparts and is attending various meetings? The families are left on their own and go sightseeing and shopping, at the cost of the tax payers. Moreover, it is a burden on the host countries as they need to provide extra hospitality, security and transport for the entourage.
Perhaps taking along spouses is a political perk but being government employees (as these dignitaries draw their salary from the public treasury) and as only they are entitled to certain benefits, they should refrain from taking along their families. India should set a trend by doing away travel perk and joy trips for families of politicians, since several Indian politicians have included their grandchildren, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, and other extended family members during their trips, either within India or abroad! By the way, can normal government employees take along their families, while going on official trips, tours, field works etc?
Sridhar D’Iyer, Caranzalem
Drive against 2-wheelers sans rear-view mirrors
The use of helmets by pillion riders has been made mandatory in the state. It is learnt that in the near future the police will be penalizing those pillion riders who do not wear a helmet. This is a good move as the pillion rider is equally at risk of a head injury in case of an accident. However, what is equally important is that two-wheelers should have rear-view mirrors. Section 5 & 7 of the Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 clearly states that all the two-wheelers are required to have two rear-view mirrors. These steps are taken to ensure traffic discipline and reduce road accidents. However, most riders are not aware that riding without rear-view mirrors is a violation.
Rear-view mirrors help in identifying what is coming from behind. They are helpful while changing lanes. The rider can just take a quick glance and change the lanes. Otherwise, the rider has to look back and take his eyes off the road for a longer duration, which can be dangerous while riding and can end up in an accident. However, most of the riders remove the rear view mirrors, because the motorcycle looks better without them. This is not a good practice, since it can be a question of life or death after all. The police in the state need to start a drive against two-wheelers who move about without possessing rear-view mirrors.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Relative emissions from EVs and petrol cars
Though a direct co-relation is rarely attempted due to various inherent capacity issues, a near approximation which is fairly accurate, denotes the yawning disparity in the emissions from a vehicle that is run on coal-fired drawn electricity at source and one run on petrol.
Consider these facts and figures. A kilogramme of coal produces 8 kwh of electricity which can run a car for 50 kilometers and the emission of carbon dioxide is 3.3 kgs. Relatively, to run a car on petrol for 50 kilometers it would take 3.4 litres of petrol and the emissions of carbon dioxide would calculate to 6.8 kgs. So from these figures it is pertinent to evaluate that an electric vehicle is cleaner, as far as emissions of carbon dioxide is concerned it is twice, for an equivalent of petrol required to do the same mileage. Thus owning an electrical vehicle is maintaining the ambient air quality index twice cleaner than using petrol. Reason enough why people should turn to buying electric cars to combat global warming, and thus climate change.
Elvidio Miranda, Panjim
