Karnataka police’s action deplorable
The Karnataka Police team at the boarder misbehaved disrespectively at our very own son of the soil Prof Rajendra Kerkar who has been in the forefront fighting for the cause of the Mhadei River being illegally diverted by Karnataka. This is an insult to every Goenkar and we need to condemn such bully tactics of the Karnataka govt and its police. For the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant who said that Mhadei River is like his mother can always change his statement as per his master’s voice. It is time that every Goenkar takes this is a very serious issue, we depend on this river to meet our drinking water requirements.
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With the destruction of the low lying fields for concrete structures and water bodies getting converted into port limits then the future Goenkar will be in deep trouble. It is time the TCP and all concerned Govt depts check on many illegalities that are destroying our natural resources which help in collecting the rain water and initiate Saving water campaign as part of the Atmanirbhar swayampoorna Goem mission. It seems Agriculture Dept and its ministry are encouraging Goenkars to sell and convert fallow lying fields to the Real Estate Sharks or self for another concrete development.
The Chief Minister, Pramod Sawant, and his Dy CM Babu Kavlekar should initiate a social audit of all the fields in Goa and bring a white paper of these lands if we have to be a self reliant State. Or the Atmarnibhar mission of our Prime Minister will be a flop in Goa.
I have been almost 10 years now in Goa, the fields in Siolim-Marna and Sodiem Panchayats are lying fallow due to the bad maintenance of the sluice gates and the faulty design of the link road. The PWD has failed to reconstruct this road and the result there is heavy water logging and now it is turning into a Wetland. We can’t have bits and pieces mission of the Atmanirbhar if Goem Swanyanpoorna has to successful.
Gregory E D’Souza, Siolim
Dip cutlery in hot water
The surge in the number of cases of Covid-19 reported in the State is indeed a cause for worry. Transmission of the infection could take place anywhere, right from the market-place to malls, beaches, buses, ferry-boats, hotels, etc. In fact any place which is crowded has the potential of spreading the virus.
Recently a popular hotel in Panjim was sealed by the authorities since some cases of infection were found at the hotel premises. Be that as it may, it would be desirable for hotels serving meals, tea and snacks to dip cutlery in hot water after washing them thoroughly in soap water before using them again. Cutlery like cups and saucers, plates, glasses, spoons and forks need to be kept in hot water for some time after washing them in running water and then wiping them with a dry cloth in order to kill any virus that could possibly be present on it.
Alternatively wherever possible, drinks and eatables can be served in disposable cutlery. Disposable paper cups, plates and saucers are made of special quality paper reinforced with polythene sheets to make it leak proof. These can be conveniently used for serving eatables and drinks in the eateries. The fight against the virus needs to be a multipronged one in order to get out of the pandemic at the earliest.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Rave parties, who is in control?
Rave parties, in complete violation of all who recommended safe protocols, continue in Goa amidst rising cases in neighbouring States and in Goa. Goans entering those States must have valid RT-PCR negative certificates. People coming to Goa from those States are exempted. They are told by the BJP Govt in Goa, though press statements appearing in local dailies, which they do not read, to follow all SOPs only. They were told the same thing in December 2020, and we know they neither heeded the same nor were they pulled up. The BJP Govt. made a statement in the Assembly, that there were no SOP violations reported in Goa in 2020 during any festival or function. Social media and the local press reported all violations by way of photos.
These are facts. Are these ‘good’ for Goa and Goans? Goa has around 80 lakh visitor footfalls. The local population is 15 lakh. Even in the pandemic, the visiting footfalls have exceeded the local population. How does it help if 15 lakh people sacrifice by restricting wedding guests, following other SOPs etc? Is the BJP privy to some research that says the virus is partial to tourists?
If you are a self-start, not kick-start, you will take action to solve the problems. Rave parties blast sound above 85 dB from 5pm to even 10 am the next day. After 50 years of such ‘tourism’, the same sound violations are going on. The Police have no calibrated sound meters. Many people, far from this madding crowd, gregariously suggest Goa goes in for hinterland tourism, that too for 365 days a year. Napoleon is reported to have said: the world suffers a lot, not because of the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of good people. He did not encounter another type of people: those who wish to propagate suffering by way of ignorance.
R Fernandes, Margao
Don’t take water for granted
This has reference to the report ‘India’s effort to provide access to water’ (Herald, March 22). As the world celebrates yet another ‘World Water Day’, we need to ask ourselves, what does it mean to us? Just another day, perhaps. Just as with other things, we have been taking water also for granted. There are so many of our fellow countrymen in villages struggling for a pot of drinking water. Yet, we do not bat an eyelid when it comes to letting the water flow from our taps, from our overhead lofty tanks down into the drains.
There is an undated WhatsApp video of an 84-year old man who has struggled for water in his initial days, has made it his mission to save water. His name is Aabid Surti, known as India’s ‘Water Man’. According to the video, this man has gone around repairing leaky water faucets in his area and he continues his Life’s mission of saving water. And, I like his statement, ‘I am only 84 and if I can, you can!’ Needless to say, it’s time man realised the importance of water to sustain life not just his own but of the flora & fauna around us.
Melville X D’Souza, Mumbai
Ripped jeans, another right taken away?
US-based Freedom House, a non-profit organisation which conducts research on political freedom and human rights has changed India’s status from a free country to “partly free”. Last week, Sweden-based V-Dem Institute was harsher in its latest report on democracy. It said India had become an “electoral autocracy”. Last month, India, described as a “flawed democracy”, slipped two places to 53rd position in the latest Democracy Index published by The Economist Intelligence Unit.
How have we reached here? It has taken just 7 years to reach here! Hitler enjoyed the support of the majority of German yet he ruined the country. True freedom required the primacy of individual rights, which should not be trampled on by temporary elected majorities. The best way to take control over people and control them utterly is to take a little of their freedom at a time, to erode rights by a thousand tiny and almost imperceptible reductions.
In this way, the people will not see those rights and freedoms being removed until past the point at which these changes cannot be reversed. When government tells you what to eat, what to wear, ripped jeans included, what movies to watch, who to marry, which God to worship they are gradually chipping at your rights. This is how we have reached the “partly free”, “electoral autocracy” and “flawed democracy” stage. The Fight for Freedom never ends stay alert!
DC Dias, Taleigao
