Gross fudging of Covid numbers
Even as the Indian government at every turn dismissed researchers and research institutions that have said the country’s excess deaths during the pandemic far surpass the official record, it has come up against a challenger it may not find easy to ignore: the WHO.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
The organisation has set the cat amongst the pigeons of the Indian bureaucracy by recording that India’s toll was at least four times higher than what government records show, it has also thrown light on the Indian government’s strange request that the WHO numbers be delayed by 10 years, it is obvious that we have some uncomfortable truths to hide.
The WHO document emphatically claims that the actual COVID fatalities are in line with independent Indian and international researchers, this conclusion seriously challenges India’s insistence on the integrity of its data reporting and collection mechanism.
The WHO has effectively stamped its authority on all those studies that disputed the sarkari figures, especially those which are closer to the WHO’s own estimates.
The WHO itself carries some heft by virtue of being an agency of the United Nations of which India is a member. To keep up appearances that India controlled the COVID waves effectively, the babus have been either misreporting (attributing death to other causes) or outrightly rigging the numbers at their masters’ behest. That this would also significantly lower the mandatory payout to relatives of COVID victims could be a reason for this criminal fudging of statistics. Hopefully the actual numbers would be put out in the public domain now for all to see, suitable disciplinary action should be taken against errant officials.
Rekha Sarin, Benaulim
Governor Pillai must walk his talk
Goa Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai has stated that selection to all government posts must be strictly on merit but has not said how he plans to ensure this. Governor Pillai must exercise his powers to make sure this happens.
Governor Pillai by being proactive could have intervened while before the recent Assembly elections hundreds were recruited into government service with merit thrown to the winds. It was dishing away jobs to those who crept in by paying cash or with the blessings of their political godfathers. Governor Pillai must also ensure that the Goa Staff Selection Commission (GSSC) does not continue to be dysfunctional.
Any political interference in the selection of government employees is unacceptable. In fact the selection, promotion and transfer of all government employees must be totally insulated from any political machinations whatsoever. It should be all strictly on merit and merit alone should be the sole guiding criteria. Politically orchestrated recruitment is illegal as the whole process must be absolutely transparent so that only the best and brightest end up in government service to serve the public.
Staff at every government office must always be of the highest calibre defending neutrality and impartiality by never being manipulated by the ruling party. This is vital for good governance if the public who are the real paymasters are to have any faith and trust in the civil service and feel that they are getting value for money and a good return for the high taxes being paid.
Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar
Well done Oppn leader Michael Lobo
Leader of opposition/Congress leader Michael Lobo must be congratulated for criticising CM Pramod Sawant’s recent statement on religious conversions.
Well, the Constitution clearly defines the right to freedom of religion in Articles 25, 26, 27 and 28 and gives citizens the liberty to preach, practise and propagate a religion of their own free choice in a democratic country like India even today. I therefore personally feel that as long as this right is fully guaranteed (of course, as long as no one is allowed to convert someone forcibly by keeping a gun over one’s head today) in the Constitution, Sawant should henceforth stop instigating his own die-hard supporters by spreading some isolated fake lies of religious conversions in the State to mischievously target Christians and instead should seriously learn to discuss some real issues of poverty, unemployment, corruption, inflation, etc, behaving like one truly highly-educated most decent elected Chief Minister of Goa.
Jerry Fernandes, Saligao
Carriage of justice
In a sterling example of carriage of justice, the Supreme Court cancelled bail granted to the main accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri case who happens to be the son of an influential union minister and ordered him to surrender within a week; it also asked the Allahabad HC to take a fresh call while scrupulously adhering to cardinal principles governing grant of bail.
The CJI headed bench hearing a petition against the lower court judgement expressly recorded their disagreement and displeasure with the shortsighted approach and hurry in which the bail was granted without giving an opportunity to the complainant to oppose it in a crime involving the loss of eight lives.
The High Court and other lower courts have completely lost sight of the principles which conventionally govern a court’s discretion when deciding the question whether or not to grant bail.
Instead of looking into aspects such as the nature and gravity of the offence, severity of the punishment in the event of conviction, circumstances peculiar to the accused or victims, the HC has in a bid to please the political masters wrongfully let out of prison an accused who might have already taken some steps to cover his tracks; per reports witnesses have been allegedly threatened by supporters of the accused to withdraw their statements incriminating the mantri’s son.
This example of fearless level headed jurisprudence by the SC offers some respite and hope for victims of similar offences and serves as a wakeup call for lower courts, it strongly sends across the message that ‘ be you ever so high, the law is above you’. Kudos SC for not bowing to political pressure, there is still some semblance of justice in India left.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Spike in Covid-19 cases
It is learnt that India’s daily COVID-19 cases doubled in the past 24 hours to more than 2,000 according to the Union Health Ministry update on Monday. The country logged 2,183 new infections. This may seem like a small number for a vast country like India. But the fact that the infection spreads rapidly could lead to a surge in the number of positive cases in the coming days.
It seems that we are still not out of the woods as far as the Covid-19 pandemic is concerned. It is pertinent to note that several districts in China are under total lockdown after a massive spike in the number of positive cases reported in that country.
It may be recalled that it was in China where the novel Coronavirus was first detected which later spread across the world with the virus mutating several times.
It is not known which variant of the virus is spreading across the country. The UP government has made masks mandatory in several districts amid a rise in COVID-19 cases.
In Goa it is observed that people seem to have lowered their guard.
Many are seen roaming about without a mask. It may no longer be mandatory to wear a mask in the state. But on the advice of the medical fraternity and for the safety of one’s own self and others around, it would be advisable not to do away with the mask altogether.
The mask needs to be worn when in a crowded place or in a closed place with the air-conditioner on.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
