A privilege awaits to holy sainthood
This being the 95th death Anniversary of our priest Venerable Fr Agnelo, the devotees are raising special prayers during the novena services for his beatification. The process is on but needs to be; we the devotees are looking forward to see our Goan priest on the altar with the other saints.
Our neighbouring village Anjuna, a picturesque place of his birth, keeps our Goans proud of Fr Agnelo to be a person of good morals, a good preacher, a kind and helpful priest who helped the needy and helpless. A priest, who thought catechism and listened to confession with patience; although he lost his parents at a young age he always walked the way of truth the choice of God. Although weak in health Venerable Fr Agnelo never turned back to complete his mission, never complained of ill health, but obeyed his superiors, and their orders with love and patience.
Let us all pray hard and with faith that soon we will see our Goan priest Venerable Fr Agnelo on the altar to holy saint hood.
Joel Fernandes, Siolim
Disqualification petitions
The Herald editorial of November 18, ‘Disqualification petition and some questions’ is so beautifully written and explained that itself is enough to disqualify the defectors if the case is put in Supreme Court on urgent basis like some cases which are taken in public interest.
Well as we all saw in the past and recently the defectors say that they have merged 2/3rd of the MLAs as per the constitution. But if it’s so true, then how come the original Congress still exists in the Assembly and how come the honourable Speaker recognises the party and the opposition leader of Congress in the Assembly is to be noted.
Yes the editor rightly said in the last para that the verdict given by the Speaker approving the merger recently and past also should be challenged by Congress instead in the court rather than filing disqualification petition. Is it possible in public interest for honourable court of law to intervene in this type matter at least in our beautiful Goa and save our Goa from future defections as we Goans have to vote every elections just to see most of our representatives jumping to other party in the name of development and we voters are helpless till the next election.
Jerry L De Souza, Divar
Foodgrain scam haunt Goa
The safety and security of the foodgrains stocks in various warehouses of civil supplies is a cause of concern. The recent issue of foodgrains meant for the poor was stored in government warehouses and sold to buyers in Karnataka is shocking. The wheat and rice were meant for distribution to the ration card holders under the public distribution system. But the foodgrains were illegally siphoned off and sold outside the State.
Who is responsible for this? Beyond doubt the wrong policies of government. Unless there is accountability nothing is going to happen. The netas, babus and government officials are having very casual approach towards the conservation of resources. The pilferage of foodgrains was symptomatic of the collapse of the PDS in the State. The Civil Supplies Department had been in news recently after it was exposed of wasting tur dal of 241 s which was left to rot in godowns.
The food grain procurement agencies are busy depriving the hungry people by way of corruption. But the government had made civil supplies director Siddhivinayak Naik a scapegoat in order to shield the real culprit. The failure of the State government in implementing the National Food Security Act may be the reason for the pilferage of grains from the PDS.
The theft and sale of foodgrains meant for poor attracts the Essential Commodities Act.
KG Vilop, Chorao
Widen road from Porvorim to Guirim
With the Mopa airport set to commence operations soon, the government needs to take urgent and concrete steps to ease the major bottleneck from Porvorim to Guirim and ensure a free flow of traffic.
As the proposed flyover on that stretch may take a decade or more, the authorities need to widen this stretch on a priority within the permissible limits to facilitate movement of traffic. All the encroachments that have mushroomed within the road widening area must be swiftly cleared.
There cannot be a pick and choose but action must be taken uniformly without showing any undue favour to those enjoying political patronage. Once this stretch is cleared it would facilitate and ease the travel time from North to South Goa.
If Mopa has been developed to boost connectivity between our State and the rest of the world, then it is incumbent on us to ensure that the scale of technology and infrastructure that we must build is unprecedented and effective. This very important necessity must ensure that the entire route from the airport to Panjim and the south and beyond is a welcoming experience for our visitors and locals alike, not an eyesore with air and noise pollution, endless traffic jams with crumbling infrastructure and bumpy roads and bridges adorned with craters.
Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar
Peak fitness secret to robust health
If you have not fallen prey to Covid-19 infection, you can pat yourself in the back because a total of 6.61 million people worldwide have fallen prey to the coronavirus and 63.6 crore people have been infected by the virus which translates into one in every 1200 people having perished to the virus and one in every 13.5 people having been infected by the virus worldwide. However, do not relax your guard yet, but continue your physical exertion to be able to reach higher peak levels of fitness. Swimming, cycling, jogging, brisk walking especially in an area with green tree cover as well as against gravity will boost your immunity to peak levels.
If you cannot go out, try sit-ups, pull-ups and push-ups as well as skipping in a well ventilated enclosed space. Chances are that you will still be able to live a pulsating and throbbing life by taking in oxygen that will keep your body finely tuned and supplied with fresh oxygen to all the extremities of the body. You are indeed capable of reaching peak fitness by exerting yourself physically.
People of all ages can boost immunity by exercising according to your capacity. To help boost energy levels, your diet should consist of a balanced consumption of carbohydrates, even sugar, vitamins, proteins and minerals to keep your body fit as a fiddle. Push your limits for higher levels of fitness and thus boost your immunity.
Elvidio Miranda, Panjim
Saving lungs
Awareness is the key word to prevent and overcome any health disorder. Cancer is no different, and it is heartening that various health bodies in the world are focusing on certain common cancers every month. October was the breast cancer awareness month and November was earmarked as the month to raise awareness on lung cancer.
Contrary to popular belief, the occurrences and deaths due to lung cancer is on the rise in both developed and developing countries. The causal relation between smoking and lung cancers, the number of cigarettes smoked per day, the age of onset of smoking and the duration of smoking are irrefutably established.
Tar and nicotine content of cigarettes’ smoke, and the dangers of using unfiltered cigarettes, have been documented. Construction workers, painters, mechanics are susceptible to the disease. Spotting the early symptoms of lung cancer will go a long way in swift diagnosis and treatment.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
