Co-operation between panchayat and villagers
Many a times we read reports about illegal activities that occur in the villages of Goa. These may be cutting of hills and trees, constructions of houses and resorts, sand and laterite mining, shops and residences without occupancy certificate or numbers, dumping of garbage and several more. Thankfully in Goa we do not have cases of illegally dug borewells that are left open and in which kids fall. If the villagers ask about the above issues, most Panchayat members and the Sarpanchas either feign ignorance or are really uninformed. The standard reply would be that that they would check and get back.
It is understandable that the Panchayat members cannot be vigilant 24 × 7 but they would always have an ear to the ground and possibly aware from informers and well-wishers as to what is going on in their wards and villages. If so, the members should make surprise visits to see what irregularities are carried out and file a complaint if anything is amiss. They have the authority and power to do so rather than asking the common people to file cases and complaints. In any case most people would baulk at the suggestion and abstain from doing so. Co-operation between villagers and panchayat and proactive actions from the latter could result in a better and peaceful environment.
Sridhar D’Iyer, Caranzalem
State silence over rape cases
The rape on the student who had come to tour goa which occurred in Panaji on Monday night is highly condemnable. The present situation is a struggle for all citizens while the ruling party is perpetuating false slogans of ‘Beti Bachao’. Crimes against women are at an unprecedented high. The police force being understaffed is also a major issue. The way violence is being normalised is a troubling fact. All pillars of the Indian democracy are showing anti-women mentality. The safety and security of women and children in the country is utmost priority for the Government. Snatching away a woman’s integrity should be taken more seriously by law enforcement authority. Such type of paedophile rapists should be punished with chemical castration. This measure will be an additional penalty for those who commit rape. Shockingly, there are large number of cases where the sentence of punishment awarded to the accused is not in proportion to the gravity and magnitude of the offence, thereby encouraging the criminal and in the ultimate making justice suffer, by weakening the system’s credibility. The sentencing policy adopted by the courts, in such cases, ought to have a stricter yardstick so as to act as a deterrent.
K G Vilop, Chorao
New Year resolutions
This has reference to the article ‘NEW YEAR, NEW HOPES’ (Herald, 28 December 2022).
Oh yes! It’s that time of the year when we talk about what is called, New Year Resolutions! Well, what is that? Oh yes, that’s a familiar term of course. Ibonio D’Souza presents some good thoughts in his article for the New Year. Yes, we often make New Year Resolutions at the beginning of a New Year and hardly has the first day of the year passed by, we are back to square one! The reason seems to be, we are not making those resolutions from the heart. Perhaps it is only a fashion to make New Year Resolutions and then forget about them. Ibonio rightly states, the best way to start a new beginning, is to turn to God. The quotes from Swami Vivekananda are also apt, ‘all power is within you, you can do anything and everything. Believe in that…..’ But, we also need to have faith in God, for, without God you can do nothing. All power comes from God.
The end of COVID offers us an opportunity to make a new beginning, trusting in the Almighty! Can we do that? New Year, New Hopes! Let’s give it a shot!
Melville X. D’Souza, Mumbai
Firecrackers need to be banned
The recent Bombay High Court Orders on Sound Pollution has fallen on deaf ears of the “Authorities” as almost 90% of Out Door music is played without obtaining prior permission from the Sub Divisional District Magistrates
It is very unfortunate that the Department of Explosives nor the Goa State Pollution Control Board have not taken note of the severe violations found almost every parameter of fireworks , including noise pollution levels, which exceed maximum permissible levels for manufacture , disclosure of chemical content and date of manufacture on packing and that illegal fireworks continue to make their way into the marker in contravention of Supreme Court directions. Firecrackers fall under ‘Class 7’ of the Explosive Act. Any explosive device which does not meet the parameters specified in Class 7 would necessarily be classified in some other Class of the Explosive Act and would be liable to extremely stringent norms for manufacture , handling and sale as befits any other explosives device including home made bombs, arms and ammunition
Firecrackers also necessarily contain numerous hazardous chemicals as defined under the Hazardous chemical rules notified under the Environment Protection Act. All these chemicals are completely banned for handling by members of the public as they are considered unsafe and can be misused of making crude bombs. We request immediate action to ensure that firecrackers which are available in the market for use by ordinary citizens do not contain any chemical listed as hazardous including aluminium magnesium, lead, manganese, strontium, copper, potassium nitrate etc
Citizens are suffering the ill effects of excessively noisy and dangerous firecrackers. We request the District Magistrate should take immediate steps to regulate the firecracker industry and bring it within the parameters of the law and Supreme Court Directives with regard to maximum permissible noise levels, fill disclosure of chemical content on packaging and restriction of Sale and Use
In the meanwhile, we request the Superintendent of Police and Goa State Pollution Control Board who are the only authority which can take penal action against “Sale & use of firecrackers exceeding permissible decibels ie 90dB measured at 4 meters distance while bursting .
Antonio de Souza, by email
Winged visitors to India
The bar-headed geese, one of the world’s highest flying birds, recently visited the famous Muttukadu backwaters on the East Coast Road of Chennai. Being an avid reader of migratory birds and their behavioural patterns, this interested me much. Bar-headed geese, which belong to the Anser family, look beautiful and elegant. When flying, these birds appear to have all-grey plumage with black wingtips. Researchers say that Bar-headed geese fly over the world’s tallest mountain range of Himalayas at a height of 21,000 feet (6,400 meters) to reach India and the migration takes about two months, covering a distance of around 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers). But what is really staggering is that in the last leg of their trip, these resilient birds fly 1,000 km non-stop for 8 straight hours. No other creature on earth comes anywhere close to Bar-headed geese in making a similar high altitude migration. George Lowe, the New Zealand born mountaineer, who supported Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s ascent in 1953, claimed that he had seen the geese from close range flying over the top of Mount Everest.
Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai
