Mobile tower needed
Students are in bare need for a very good network to cope up with online class to complete their syllabus due to the prevailing circumstances. People in the past objected to erection of mobile towers to stop the fear of pollution/radiation that could be emitted from it. Now these very towers are absolute necessities for the benefit of your children. So lets bury our grudge and allows the erection of mobile tower in our neighbourhood to boost the good network connection required by all. Now even religious obligations are beamed through internet facility.
Caetano A Rodrigues, Navelim
Govt should show some sensitivity
In this current raging COVID-19 crisis which has now extended to 2020 and the end of which nobody knows, the Goa Government should have displayed some sensitivity and concern more in particular to the poor and impoverished who have been financially, emotionally and physically drained over the last over three months. With the rising fuel rates, escalating prices of essential commodities, the growing taxes at all levels while even the power and water supply bills being unreasonably hiked, all this comes as a big jolt to all and more particularly to our dear brothers and sisters now in financial straits.
Let us all appeal to the conscience if any of this government which seems to be so very numb, to wake up to the reality and have a ground feel of what the common man on the streets of Goa are facing and bracing. We elect MLAs to serve us and not to abandon us especially during such a pandemic when their role is all the more crucial.
Goa’s 40 MLAs will be judged not by what they have done but by what they have failed to do to reach out to the needs of our poorest of poor who are so very now so distressed and stranded monetarily in this crisis which admittedly has brought the entire world on its knees. Having lost our faith on the elected representatives, to our very misfortune even the Mosques, Temples and Churches are today shut denying us that avenue to finally seek the Almighty’s intervention in these turbulent and trying times. God save us.
Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar
Education through Cable TV network
Online classes in the State may not achieve the desired results for various reasons. The main cause being poor connectivity and the fact that children of poor families most probably do not own a smartphone. Hence online education cannot be made mandatory. The government has said that decision on reopening of schools will be taken after July 15.
In this context it is necessary to keep children connected with the studies for the new academic year by exercising other options. One way to teach the children in their homes would be by making use of the local cable TV network. Almost every home has a cable TV connection. Schools from the locality could be assigned a particular time slot on the local TV cable channel where all the subjects could be touched upon for the day. The relevant video could be directed to the cable TV operator to be telecast on the particular channel which could be called as “Educational Channel”. Students of a school should be informed of the particular time slot allotted to their school by the cable operator. This way classes can be held at no extra expense for the parents. There will also be no problem of connectivity. Poor people will not have to go for an expensive smartphone for their children which they would have had to probably by even taking a loan.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Goans should stand for their rights
This is with reference to the article that appeared on Herald dated June 23, 2020, “Centre has no respect for Goa and it’s people.” It echoed my sentiments exactly and that of a true Goan who I am sure feels the same. The above statement does not only hold true for the Center but also our state government ministers, who sadly, claim to be Goans but do nothing for Goa or the Goans.
In my previous letters to the editor I had written about the haphazard way in which the borders were opened to encourage outsiders to come into Goa not bearing in mind that the people of Goa had endured a 21-day lockdown by very religiously staying indoors and keeping themselves safe. Today’s surge of Covid-19 cases is nothing but the callousness and inconsideration of the government to put what they want first instead of prioritizing what is good for the people of Goa. The same can also be said of the previous governments who really never cared for what the people of Goa wanted.
As such, Daourado of the Villagers Action Committee had every right to say that the government does not care for us or our beautiful State. If they did understand our culture or our land they would not cut through our land and nature to build bridges, roads and railway tracks for the benefit of others. Instead, they would look into the needs of our youth, who are moving out of our state in search of jobs and even higher studies. Our land is very fertile for agriculture, so much could be done to improve it and make Goa self-sufficient and sustainable. However, all that is done is the destruction of our land in the name of development which we Goans do not need.
It is time for every Goan to have a re-think and stand up for your rights for the better good of our children and Goa.
Marie Fernandes, Panjim
Where there is a will, there is a way
Obstacles and barriers cannot stop a person from realising dreams, if one has the determination, and this has been proved by 24-year-old girl Anchal Gangwal from MP, a tea seller’s daughter who recently joined the Indian Air Force as Flying Officer.
She was commissioned into the Indian Air Force IAF a few days ago, but it was not an easy journey for her as sometimes her father did not even have the money to pay for her education fees. It is really great news of the day. Congratulations to Anchal Gangwal and her parents! A proud moment indeed.
She and her parents have set up an example for all parents and their children. She has shown us that a person can reach his destination, when he fixes it and try for it with strong determination.
M N Jogeshwari, Mumbai
Lion count
It is great to know that the Asiatic lion population in the Gir sanctuary of Gujarat, and the adjoining forests, spread over a vast area, has risen to 674 from 523 in 2015. The 30 % rise in the big cat number, over five years, is a much–needed shot in the arm for lion conservation efforts in the area inview of the fact that an April report indicated at least 19 big cats had succumbed to canine distemper virus (CDV), tick infestation and old age. Way back in 2015, Gir had adopted modern methods to count lions because of its accuracy. Global positioning system( GPS), geo–reference and videography were some apart from the time testred ‘direct sighting’. Preservation of lion habitat, and corridors, obviously have helped the majestic animals to flourish. It is known that intersection of roads and tracks with the lion habitats can prove detrimental to the big cat. But a firm control on sand mining activities in the Gir Sanctuary has gone a long way. The Western Railways had limited the speed of goods trains on tracks close to the sanctuary in many districts. Nearly 80 kilometers of railway tracks passing through the Amreli region has been fenced with barbed wires; more needs to be done. The Gujarat government has increased the livestock availability for lions as prey base. CDV vaccines have saved the lives of big cats. Man–lion conflict has been reduced to a great extent but is not enough.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
