Congratulations to the President elect
Congratulations to the President elect Droupadi Murmu, a lesser known tribal woman. India has the unique distinction of having three of its first Presidents as scholars who were admired all over the world. While being welcomed by second President of India Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the Pope who came from Vatican and landed in India for the Eucharisitc Congress held in Bombay, said “It was always my pleasure to meet and discuss with you so many topics of the interest of the world”. One of the world’s renowned philosophers, Dr Radhakrishnan’s fame went far and wide and if India followed the appropriate course of action in its nascent period of its birth, it was mainly because of the first three presidents, following its independence.
The influence of Congress on India was so powerful that “whatever Nehru said it must be done”, but not in front of both the giants namely Dr Rajendra Prasad and Dr Radakrishnan. Where the situation was “I am more powerful than you” that is existing in India, was always eradicated between the offices of premier and president, the most important topics were discussed and solved by agreeing to the views of the one who was more right than the others. The all four great sons of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Drs. Prasad, Radhakrishnan-Zakir Hussein – brought great honour to India by displaying their wisdom and intellectual capacity not nationally only but even internationally. They brought honour to India.
Let us hope that the President elect will perform her duties in a non partisan manner to uphold the dignity of her office.
A Veronica Fernandes, Candolim
Special parking for senior citizens
Kudos and thanks to Goa Senior Citizens Forum lead by its President Diego D’Costa and MMC Chief Officer Rohit Kadam for arriving at a resolution in reserving much needed amenity of having a reservation of special parking areas for senior citizens.
It’s a fact that due to not availability of cheap and convenient public transport such as taxis/rickshaws, many senior citizens who have to visit Margao for various personal works have to drive their own vehicles and getting a place easily for parking their four wheelers is next to impossible or a yeoman task.
Therefore a much needed facility of having dedicated and well planned parking places will go a long way to alleviate their difficulties. However I must add here that mere demarcation of parking areas will not be sufficient, but ensuring that such areas are not misused by others (non-Sr Citizens) should be monitored by the authorities and action should be taken against the offenders. Only then the Sr Citizens will be truly benefited.
Antonio Diniz, Fatorda
Thumping victory for Droupadi Murmu
Droupadi Murmu is India’s first citizen following her spectacular triumph in the Presidential race. Ms Murmu registered a thumping victory over Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha, who gracefully conceded defeat. Ms Murmu, who bagged 64 per cent of the total votes polled, is the first tribal to be appointed to the position and will become the country’s 15th President, succeeding Ram Nath Kovind. The contest witnessed heavy cross-voting exposing the chinks in the Opposition’s armour.
N J Ravi Chander, Bengaluru
Make village development top priority
It’s been more than a month now that the high mast lights at the Cavelossim Church square are not working leaving the entire area in darkness making it extremely dangerous for both the traffic and the pedestrians, as the very entrance to the village itself involves sharp turns. Repeated calls to the authorities have fallen on deaf ears (the usual ‘not my job’ business). Since the village panchayat is on auto pilot mode and the elections round the corner, one would expect any of the aspiring candidates to take up the initiative and take up the cause to resolve the issue. But everyone seem to be oblivious or chooses to turn a blind eye although they can be seen canvassing along with their supporters.
The point is, if the aspirants are so insensitive to such a glaring issue as the Church square what development can we expect from the future panchayat members? This should be a pointer to all the aspiring panchayat candidates of Goa “Make your village development your top priority” people will vote for you. In the meanwhile request the concerned authorities to resolve this matter before it is too late.
Boaventura Vaz, Cavelossim
Being grateful is a blessing!
Being grateful is not an easy feat but not impossible too. Even if one is pious to the core, but if mind is fogged with ignorance, ego or pride – becoming a grateful person can be difficult, especially if you’re in a situation that feels oppressive or stagnant, where one have to dig deeper to find that our gratitude to those deserving is clouded with other events which seems more important to you. The best way is, just make a habit of revisiting the things that made you feel overwhelmingly grateful. As humans, we have a tendency to focus solely on what is happening to us in the present moment, especially if it’s something negative as we ruminate over how to change our current situation and in the bargain we forget to acknowledge all that is gone well in our lives, if we’re only thinking about why things are going wrong now. In my experience, the fastest way to become a grateful person is to intend to be one with all the fortunate things that happened in our lives. As soon as you wake up, tell yourself that you’re going to find three beautiful things to feel grateful about, could be what your parents, partner, friends who stood for you during your dark days. Later as you go through your day, be mindful of the things that make you pause, take notice and tell yourself how much you appreciate with gratitude and you will feel the gratefulness flowing into you and your life. Trust me, you’ll be a happier person too as you have made conscious choice to be grateful and thankful for what changed your life. I hereby conclude with a famous quote: Remember, when we focus on our Gratefulness, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in.” – Try it out, it works!
Gaston Dias, Sarzora
Providing parking space for senior citizens
Margao Municipality has reportedly decided to honour a long pending demand of Goa Senior Citizens Forum (GSCF) to earmark special parking areas for senior citizens in the city. It is understood that several areas have been chosen within the jurisdiction of the civic body which will have space marked especially for the senior citizens to park their vehicles. This is a step in the right direction as senior citizens could have great difficulty in finding parking space for their vehicles in the city. We all know the frustration of arriving at a destination and finding that all the accessible parking spots are full. Elderly persons cannot be expected to be confined to the four walls of their homes at all times. An excellent parking system can affect the willingness of the elderly to drive an automobile for travel and for participating in social activities. A study has shown that most of the older individuals needed wider-than-standard parking spaces as their parking ability could be affected by age, driving experience and health conditions. Parking spaces for elderly persons provide a welcome relief to those with mobility problems, especially for those who are above 70 years. Other civic bodies in the state need to take the cue from the Margao Municipality and reserve parking space for elderly persons in their respective jurisdiction.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
