Thank you Goa Foundation and HC
Thank you Adv Norma Alvares and Claude Alvares and all the team members of Goa Foundation for your relentless struggle to protect the Goan land, rivers and forests.
Thank you also to the High Court Honourable Justices Mahesh Sonak and Bharat Deshpande for standing up for the people and animals of Goa.
Shame on those who are hell-bent to destroy the Goan land, rivers and forests. Yes there is a setting between some leaders who are trying to silence the voice of the people.
Matias Lobo, Tivim
Of leaking bridges and flyovers
It is raining cats and dogs. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for heavy rains in Goa. Those travelling in their vehicles are put to a lot of hardships due to the pathetic condition of the roads, which are flooded and full of potholes. However another problem the travelling public is now facing is that of water splashing down as they pass under the newly built flyovers and bridges in the state. This is the case with the Atal Setu and the flyover leading to the new Zuari bridge.
While driving in a car under the bridges and flyovers one can expect large amounts of water to fall on their vehicles with a loud thud. If one is riding a two-wheeler one should be prepared to be showered by water accumulated on the bridge or flyover above. This sudden gush of water can even result in the two-wheeler rider losing balance thereby leading to an accident. These newly built structures should have had a proper drainage system so that the water accumulated on them is let out through a pipeline to the ground below. That does not seem to be the case. Pedestrians walking below not only have to protect themselves from water splashed by moving vehicles but also from water dripping from the bridges and flyovers above.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Usage of the term INDIA
So invocation of the word ‘INDIA’ reminds some of a colonial company and a terrorist organization! Naturally the question arises whether the much zealously-shouted rhetoric of ‘Digital India’ or ‘Skill India’ also remind them of ‘East India Company’ or ‘Indian Mujahideen’!
Recently, innumerable ‘nationalist’ citizens had displayed much ‘pride’ as Indians on witnessing the spectacle of India’s Moon-mission!
Do those very same ‘proud’ people feel an iota of shame, disgrace and disgust as Indians on reading news reports of unfathomable barbaric horrendous atrocities upon Kuki women in Manipur reminding all of the lawless dark days of centuries ago!
Or in the definition of the ‘nationalist’ Indians, all norms of ‘modernity’ and ‘progress’ lie embedded in technological advancement only!
Kajal Chatterjee, Kolkata
Does it behove a Prime Minister?
PM Modi seems to be rattled by the ‘INDIA’ christened alliance of the Opposition parties, so much so that he thundered during an internal BJP meeting that it has been a practice since the British times to use the term ‘India’ as a cover up for vested interests and nefarious activities. He quoted the example of East India Company looting the country, and went so far as to mention that terrorist outfits like the Indian Mujahideen and the Popular Front of India had ‘ India’ in their names. Does it behove the prime minister of a country to use such intemperate language for denigrating parties not aligned with the saffron ideology? If anything, he is tarnishing the name of our great country. Modi’s dog-whistling led to other BJP heavyweights like Nadda, Yogi and Pradhan tweeting along similar lines. All this regurgitation of bile was on account of the opposition’s plan to bring in a no confidence motion against the government. Slamming the Opposition further, Modi said that the no trust move will lead to a surge in the BJP’s tally in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections to 350 seats. This man looks at the whole country through the prism of elections and establishing Sanghi rule for eternity.
On participating in debates in Parliament regarding an imploding Manipur (the conflagration is slowly spreading to Mizoram and Assam too) he refrains and chooses strategic withdrawal. The be all and end all of his existence is votes, but people have woken up to his doublespeak and hollowness. The recent Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh electoral debacles are proof enough.
We won’t be surprised if the man calls for early elections and anoints himself PM for life. He might even declare an emergency and install a Presidential form of government. Anything is possible. History is witness to the fact that all authoritarian regimes built on fear, not consensus have a limited shelf life. The writing is on the wall for the Sanghis, come 2024.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Another monster in Ukraine?
Predicting in the Nostradamus tradition for the near term, one feels that with the West arming Ukraine, based on the principle that an ‘enemy’s enemy is a friend’ it is pouring in billions into the country comprising aid and armaments that include battle tanks and advanced fighter jets. The country may never have seen this level of aid in their entire history orchestrated by their media savvy President Zelenskyy. There is also talk of giving Ukraine NATO membership.
One feels that the West is creating another monster and is reminded of how the West led by the USA created the problem in Afghanistan by feeding the Taliban to wage war against the USSR, and the Tabliban ultimately turned against the West, spawning in its wake Osama bin Laden. Zelenskyy drunk on his heady ability to withstand the might of the Russian military for more than a year now may have other designs to explore. It should not be that Ukraine turns out to become another centre of militancy gaining confidence from the support of the West that it is getting now. Ukraine could target its neighbours first and then being proximate to Europe pose a danger to the Continent than to the USA.
Srinivas Kamat, Alto St Cruz
Worldwide Web Day
Worldwide Web Day is a global celebration dedicated to web browsing, the online activity that bring the whole world to your fingertips, and places a wealth of knowledge at your feet. It is celebrated on August 1 every year.
Most people rely on the Worldwide Web in order to find out information and carry out tasks online everyday. It is integral to a lot of jobs as well. Therefore, it is only right that we have a day to honour the Worldwide Web, and that is what Worldwide Web Day is all about.
Jubel D’Cruz, Mumbai
