Open coaching classes
Some parents have expressed resentment as they are unhappy since online teaching started. Some parents cannot afford to buy smart phones, mobiles connectivity to internet and so on. Also the electricity is erratic. Some schools have not yet started online teaching. My personal opinion is that the schools and coaching classes should start immediately. Due to online teaching, students are glued to tables and chairs for hours together as tutors and school teachers teach for continuous hours.
This affects students health, their eyes get affected due to strain and they are deprived of physical exercise and laziness creeps in. Ultimately once schools reopen and teaching starts the poor students who were deprived of learning due to various factors, will get disturbed as those who already learnt will be impatient creating havoc in the class and leading to a messy situation. The teachers will have to start from the scratch to enable the students who could not avail of the online facility to get them updated.
The virus may continue as one has to live with it also distancing is not observed, but if it is to be observed then 50 per cent students can attend the classes in batches. So analysing all the above conditions, it is crystal clear that online teaching should be replaced by regular classes in schools and coaching classes as there will be better contact with teachers. Sooner the better.
Aureo Cunha Gomes, Mapusa
Double tracking not beneficial to Goa
The MP after long gap of time finally spoke against double tracking. This should be the say of all MPs so also of all the MLAs of South Goa irrespective of their party affiliations. In fact the double track does not benefit the Goans in any way, on the contrary it destroys Goan forestry thereby damaging the ecology and thereby the health of Goan population in general. If all the elected representatives including the Panchayats raise their voice, it will definitely have effect and the Railway authorities will have to think twice.
Similarly the ongoing 6 lane highway from Mopa down to South India has caused so much damage to ecology and Water bodies like Nuvem Rubrer, which had a large water Reservoir but today’s it is beyond recognition and a sorry sight to see. Today we are facing a rare epidemic, more such will follow if do not try to save the greenery, Forestry and the Water bodies and the paddy fields which are ravaged by us all.
Antonio F. Fernandes, Arossim
Sao Joao festivities and the pandemic
Sao Joao festival is celebrated every year on June 24 with songs, dance, food and drinks flowing freely. Though the festival is celebrated in several Goan villages and towns, spectacular Sao Joao celebrations are seen in the village of Siolim where the canoes are tastefully decorated. People have a jolly good time and are seen wearing a head-gear locally known as “kopel”. Processions are held and the son-in-law is invited in the village and pampered by the in-laws. The highlight of the festival is the youth and the not-so-old jumping into the wells. However due to the pandemic, the festivities could be a low-key affair this year. The Coronavirus could be a huge dampener to Sao Joao festivities.
It may not be possible to hold large crowd gatherings and processions since social distancing may not be possible. It may also not be possible to wear a mask while getting wet in the rains and jumping in the wells. Though the festival is based on a Biblical event, all these festivities do not have a direct connotation with the feast of St. John the Baptist. This year it may be considered as a God-sent opportunity to focus on the real meaning of the feast by staying indoors and participating in the online mass and celebrating the feast of St. John the Baptist with religious fervour.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Yoga is the best medicine
Yoga is the best medicine any doctor can ever prescribe to a person. It plays an important role in our lives and it keeps us fit and healthy. It is an invaluable gift of ancient Indian tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature and a holistic approach to health and well-being. Through yoga, you can explore profoundly the very mechanics of life. It is a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline. It is beneficial if it is practiced on a daily basis in the mornings. In India, yoga day is celebrated on June 21. The word ‘yoga’ literally means ‘union’.
Jubel D’Cruz, Mumbai
Barter system, can we have it now?
In the olden days when currency was not in circulation barter system played a major role for a human to sustain in the world. People were really happy by the system. If someone grew fruits he would exchange them with someone growing vegetables. If someone ploughed your field in exchange they would give him rice or any other thing grown. Services for service too were exchanged. Barter system also happened from country to country. So this things or system of exchanging moved smoothly in the ancient world until money was invented I should say or came into existence.
Alas today money plays a major role and money is the leader of all evil. People have grown lazy, they don’t want to toil in the fields and grow anything. Everything is bought by money so there is no scope for bartering. I still remember people working in our fields were given rice, mango plucker was given mangoes, coconut plucker was given coconuts, fisherman on boats were given fish and so on.
Friends this pandemic has thrown our lives out of gear, economy is down, people are suffering for no fault of theirs, no work no pay so people are left to fend for themselves. Now in this present situation wouldn’t barter system play a major role? If we were more into farming etc we could exchange the yields for other things. We can start our ventures in our villages etc and do barter system with others, so that at least the basic food items are available at home without buying from the markets. Can we move back at little and explore the possibilities. Can we do it?
Pascoal T Fernandes, Colvale
Siolim sluice gate not opened
The Covid-19 pandemic has further delayed works to be carried out at the Siolim-Marna fields for many years. The farmers have been running pillar to post to rectify the mess of water logging in their fields for years but surprising we don’t have engineers in the WRD/Agriculture and PWD to make these fields cultivable again.
The pandemic has opened the eyes of the Government to see that the precious agriculture land should not be concretised while the Agriculture Minister who is Deputy CM Babu Kavlekar has promised to see that agriculture land is preserved and encourage the farmers to cultivate is hoped not to be a stage talk. To make matter worse this year the sluice gate in Siolim near St. Anthony’s Church has not been opened to allow the rain water collected into the fields to flow back into the tidal creek this is total negligence on the part of the people holding charge of the sluice (Manos) and WRD for failure to do the maintenance of the gates.
It is hoped the WRD/ GCMZ under the leadership of Member Secretary Dr. Pradeep Sirmokadam of Goa Biodiversity Board with village BMCs the mapping of the important ancestral bandhs sluice gates these dilapidated golden greenfields will be restored back to its natural fertility to produce agriculture products for the State of Goa.
Gregory E. Dsouza, Siolim
