Very important to vote for right person
Everything you dream or freedom we bitterly fought for, will evaporate in no time and make you a pauper or refugee in your own land if your leaders sell you with impunity, make laws that enslave you, look after themselves and finally run away scot free. Therefore please think before believing the false promises about unsustainable development, or emotional stirrings on religion, caste, national security, freebies offered with money siphoned by various means from government coffers and your piggy bank, by taxes, cess, high prices etc before casting your vote!
Do not forget pains starting with demonitisation travails, and now monetising government “brown assets” which will favour crony capitalism and eventually paid for by the public having to use those assets now privatised. Be willing to give it a thought in your and public interest before voting as demanded/fixed by politicians and vested interests. Your country is your family, friends, community (common unity). Work to build a community of love (common unity) that will make a great happy nation!
John Eric Gomes, Porvorim
Afghanistan, rich in mineral deposits
The swift fall of Afghanistan to Taliban fighters has triggered a humanitarian crisis, with thousands trying to flee the country. Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world. Approximately 90% of Afghans living below the government determined poverty line. However, geologists over the years have revealed that the country was sitting on mineral deposits worth nearly $ 1 trillion.
Afghanistan has probably one of the world’s biggest deposits of lithium an essential but scarce component in rechargeable batteries and other technologies vital to tackling the climate crisis. The demand for Cobalt, Nickel as well as rare earth elements is soaring as countries try to switch to electric cars and other technologies in order to reduce carbon emission. Afghanistan also reportedly has vast reserves of gold, platinum, silver, copper, iron, chromite, uranium and aluminum. It is also rich in precious gems like emeralds, rubies, sapphire and other gemstones. It is learnt that the country may hold millions of metric tonnes of copper, iron ore and rare earth elements.
Lack of infrastructure, political instability, weak institutions, widespread corruption and a difficult business environment, security challenges and severe droughts have reportedly prevented the extraction of the most valuable minerals of the past. According to experts this is unlikely to change under Taliban rule. Hence countries like China, Pakistan and Russia are showing keen interest in the Taliban controlled Afghanistan. Under Taliban rule a functional government in Afghanistan could be a far cry.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Give justice for the victim’s family
Activists, women and many like-minded Goans of late are seen holding candle light marches in different parts of Goa and rightly demanding justice for late Siddhi Naik whose body was found under mysterious circumstances at Calangute beach recently. The Calangute police has indeed botched up the case initially by ruling it as a case of drowning and later the doctors too who did the post mortem by not following any proper procedures at all. Now, under such circumstances, how can one ever trust the suicide theory version of the investigation police as well as the doctors in this particular case in Goa?
Some individuals are now trying to malign the image of the victim girl on social media by making some baseless allegations about her personal lifestyles. Hey, can’t a young girl roam around freely anywhere and go for outings/parties along with her friends just like all the boys in Goa?
And even if the females are found partying or roaming late at night in discotheques or on beaches, under which law does the males have a right to rape/murder them by behaving like those serial killers or some roadside stray dogs in different parts of Goa? This case should therefore be thoroughly re-investigated and those involved should be immediately arrested/punished to give justice for the victim girl and to scare all those morons living with the stray dog devilish mentality from committing such heinous crimes against women in the near future in Goa.
Yes, the Goa police should re-investigate the Siddhi Naik case thoroughly to bring out the whole actual truth and to finally give justice for the victim’s family one’s for all.
Jerry Fernandes, Saligao
It’s ‘denguedemic’ now after pandemic
With the Covid numbers thankfully plateauing, the public health authorities have been able to some extent focus on vector borne diseases like malaria and dengue which seem to be resurgent.
Two hundred and sixty-six cases of dengue were reported during the first seven months of the year as compared to 212 for the same period in 2020, ironically inspections show that most of the mosquito breeding sites are on government premises. Larvae breeding sites include water tanks, abandoned vehicles, municipal garbage dumps, waterlogged construction areas, fountains, flowerpots, why even stagnant water in potholes left after the rains.
In village areas which are blessed with abundant greenery the Aedes aegypti mosquito menace is more acute, also it is a myth that the dengue mosquito bites only in the daytime, in fact it is fairly active in brightly lit areas even during night time. The health department has as yet not been proactive or formulated a coherent policy on anti dengue measures like fogging etc, it appears as if they are waiting for a dengue epidemic to rage before they wake up from their slumber.
As deterrence the civic authorities should take punitive action, including but not limited to cutting electricity and water supply to buildings, also pecuniary fines must be imposed on errant building owners and private individuals who allow mosquitoes to breed on their premises. We won’t like a denguedemic in addition to the pandemic, for that would be a sort of sinister icing on the disease cake.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
It’s public, it knows everything!
The country saw what happened in Maharashtra from the controversial statement made by Union Minister Narayan Rane about the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. For whatever reason that leads to political controversy. i.e. verbal skirmishes and fights.
Only leaders & activists of the parties concerned are involved. That’s always the picture. Leaders & activists are so dumb in political drama that they have no idea what we are doing. There is no need to talk about the frequent clashes between those in power and those on the opposition benches. Whom to praise and whom to criticise? In the political debate nowhere general public is involved. There is huge public outrage over the controversy of political parties that tarnish democracy.
People always say, ‘They will fight today & unite tomorrow’. Politicians also say that ‘No one has an enemy in politics’. The questions of the people & the political parties are different. ‘You have to do job-business to fill your stomach. No one will bring a full dinner plate. The people have to solve their own problems themselves’, this tone of the people says a lot.
Everybody is watching how the level of politics is declining day by day. At the political level, the public and the police are being unnecessarily overwhelmed. No one pays attention to this. From this it can be said that the quarrel between the two and the trouble to the third.
Jayesh Rane, Mumbai
