Unfair deal for fair price shop distributors
As per statistics, there are over 400 fair price shops who distribute rice and wheat to ration card holders.
However the distributors are not getting fair price from the government to run the same.
Rent, electricity bills, staff and transport charges need to be paid and such expenses are not given to them for last 3 years and also some remuneration promised during COVID-19 is yet to be paid.
Today a card holder who depends on this gets 8 kgs of rice and 6 kgs of wheat and the same is to be increased to 15 and 10 kgs respectively and the distributor hardly gets anything.
The public distribution system is one of the oldest form of distributing rice, wheat, sugar, oil etc at reasonable rates and but due to lack of support price and appreciation, the shops are not in a position to supply to the needy. It’s time for the government to increase their maintenance charges, salary to staff and other expenses involved in running this fair price shop .
Raju Ramamurthy, Vasco
Goa heading for environmental disaster
Given the current grim state of the basic infrastructure in Goa, it would be prudent for the government not to allow the construction of any further residential complexes.
Lack of proper planning with the mushrooming of environmentally incompatible new constructions all over without the much needed infrastructure has landed Goa in chaos.
With political blessings, the real estate mafia has swiftly enriched itself multi-fold while leaving the common man to face the brunt of their misdeeds. The State has been unable to even provide adequate water and power supply. While there is no proper sewerage system in place, the garbage management has also reached a point of crisis.
The colossal environmental degradation that Goa has been witnessing over the years by way of rampant destruction of hills, fragmentation of pristine vegetated verdant landscapes and ruthless chopping of trees with not even sparing the pouring of concrete in the low lying fields is finally showing the impact of criminal interference in Goa’s age old natural ecosystems.
If those in power do not take urgent corrective, well planned and sustainable measures to save the natural ecosystems, the god gifted landscape, the eco-sensitive beaches, sand dunes, Khazans, wetlands, Salt pans, the last remaining hills and farms, the orchards, rivers, estuaries, lakes, ponds, springs and fountains of Goa for protecting our ecology, we will soon have a major catastrophic disaster.
Goa has been a beautiful accident of history endowed with abundant resources. But the rampant greed of those in power has brought our State to a point of grave environmental crisis.
Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar
Goa needs proper plan to manage waste
Once upon a time Goa was known for its scenic beauty and a peaceful environment. However with tremendous rise in pollution and destruction in our state, we have somehow lost its beauty.
Every nook and corner of Goa we see garbage scattered. There is no proper waste management nor there is segregation of waste taking place. We don’t have a proper procedure for the disposal of waste however we see things being scattered all over. With the increase in the usage of plastic which is Non-biodegradable waste management has somehow been clashed.
Use of plastic in our day to day life has resulted in huge amount of plastic waste. Apart from this, the wet waste which can be decomposed is also a nuisance. We see many stray animals loitering around this waste and thus creating a total mess.
If all the citizens along with the help of the officials work together, we can somehow lead to a clean and green Goa. If there is a proper waste management plan, it will truly benefit the state and thus we can preserve our State for the future generations.
If every village organises programs to educate the people regarding proper waste management, we can definitely have a proper waste disposal procedures. All the panchayats should bring out a proposal and discuss how this waste management plan can be enforced. We can encourage the people to separate their waste into wet and dry waste. All the plastic waste can be collected and recycled if possible. On the other hand, wet waste can be used for decomposition and thus we can get manure from it. Apart from this, wherever it is possible we can limit the usage of plastic such as carry bags and encourage use of cloth and paper bags if possible. Let us not throw garbage on the roads, public property, fish market and in the neighbourhood at nightss, on the contrary, let us make our surroundings clean.
Even the garbage treatment plant needs to undergo modification and meet the requirements of a waste management plant. We should use new methods and combine the latest technology to solve these issues.
Macrina Dias, Assolna
Appoint Presiding Officer at the earliest
It has been almost a year since the post of Presiding Officer in the Office of the Assistant Registrar of Co-operative Societies has been lying vacant.
On account of this, the resolution of disputes arising between the various Co-operative Housing Societies, members and other entities has practically ground to a standstill. The staff of the said office are totally in the dark as to when the Presiding Officer will be appointed.
Many government departments were petitioned in this regard including the ‘Department of Co-operation’ to urgently fill the vacancy, but till date absolutely no action has been taken. As a consequence, both the Co-operative Housing Societies and the members are facing a harrowing time.
We the aggrieved once again earnestly request the Government to pay heed to our pleadings and appoint the Presiding Officer at the earliest.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
