‘Lawless’ Goa operates without a licence!
It was certainly sad to hear about the tragic death of a Maharashtra tourist whilst paragliding on Keri Plateau recently. It must be very heart-breaking for the respective families!
Whilst it was termed as an accident, I would say it was absolute “carelessness/apathy” not only from the operator, but also the law enforcing administration of the Goa! Watersports accidents are not new to Goa, and in fact, there have been quite a few. What makes things worse is that the Goa government administration/Collector's office “sleeps/hibernates” on the numerous complaints given by concerned citizens!
In my village of Colva as an example, there are numerous complaints/concerns that have been raised by concerned villagers and the Colva Civic and Consumer forum, an NGO, but it appears that the Goa Tourism/Home Ministry/Collector’s office/police, etc, are all waiting again for another fatal “accident” to happen! Why only operators are made party to the fatal accidents? Should the irresponsible govt officials/Collector/Police, etc, not also be made party as they ignore official complaints from citizens? How was this operator allowed to operate without a licence? Why are the respective Goa Minister(s) not made accountable in such tragic cases and instead getting away with unacceptable excuses?
The general issue in Goa is lawlessness/corruption. It looks like many things operate without a licence; be it in this tragic case at Keri or the massive hill cutting/tree cutting/filling low-lying area for real estate projects in violation of environmental/local laws; where respective ministers shamefully come back with unacceptable/helpless statements: “They were operating without a licence!” The Keri tragedy was just (sad to say) an accident waiting to happen and I dread that even more fatalities will happen unless the respective Goa ministers and MLAs stop making lame excuses, “pull up their socks” and ensure basic laws/complaints/laws/regulations/monitoring are followed thoroughly!
Arwin Mesquita, Colva
Please leave
Goa alone
Despite vociferous opposition from niz Goenkars, the government is planning to develop a permanent EDM zone at Anjuna, not to mention a massive Film City too in North Goa.
The Tourism Department intends to put up a fully equipped ‘plug and play’ facility on 150,000 sqms of precious land which would have sophisticated sound systems, lighting, stage setups and audience facilities.
The hilltop site belongs to the Anjuna Comunidade i.e. the locals too are stakeholders. The people in the North Goa’s coastal belt are already suffering due to numerous clubs playing loud music till the wee hours; the occasional EDM festivals make it worse. The State is in a way institutionalising torture inflicted on the populace by such ‘entertainment’ zones.
The government has not taken the villagers into confidence about this move. The environmental and social impact of this detrimental plan on Goa will be enormous; large tracts of green cover will be destroyed, mountains of garbage will be generated, there shall be a quantum rise in crime levels and drug peddling due to such a harebrained scheme.
Goa has breached its carrying capacity two decades back, but the politicians want to worsen things further. To them I say: “Please leave Goa alone.” How much more degradation and destruction can a land and its people suffer in the name of development?
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Cyber fraudsters
hacking elders
It’s really shocking that senior citizens are targeted by cyber fraudsters as the elders' only fast media source of connecting to their near and dear ones although they are not at all tech savvy, and as result, fall prey to the cyber fraudsters. Even sometimes tech savvy people too fall prey to such scammers.
According to senior citizens, as reported to the media, the scammers are hacking the senior citizens' WhatsApp accounts and sending fraudulent money requests to their contacts and when they click, their account gets hacked. Hence, the cyber officials should monitor the messages when a complaint is filed without any delay so the more elderly citizens do not fall prey to such cyber scammers. The cyber officials should release advertisement what are the dos and don’ts, while using WhatsApp by elderly citizens on print as well as TV channels and YouTube channels to advise the elders not to click on suspected messages as once the messages of money request is sent, the WhatsApp account is hacked as many senior citizens depend on the app for faster communication and stay in touch with their children abroad which has created fear among elderly people. This needs to be addressed by the cyber officials on a war footing or else more elderly people will fall prey.
Diomedes Romano Pereira, Corlim
Why are MLA LAD
funds not utilised?
It is shocking to note that in the last three years nearly Rs 150 crore remained unutilised by the MLAs from their entitled Rs 300 crore funds under the MLA Local Area Development (LAD) scheme.
Incidentally, four legislators exceeded their ceiling limit. It is pertinent to note that under the scheme, the MLAs can get projects worth Rs 2.5 crore sanctioned annually. A total of Rs 300 crore was reportedly allocated across 40 constituencies since 2022, when the scheme was notified and each constituency has got a total allocation of Rs 7.50 crore.
Incidentally, the MLA-LAD scheme was set up in line to enable the elected representatives to recommend development works for creating assets and amenities in sectors such as drinking water, primary education, public health, sanitation and roads.
It is indeed flabbergasting to note that several MLAs probably feel that there is no need to carry out further developmental work in their respective constituencies.
Should citizens believe that their constituency is overdeveloped and that there is no scope for further development? People from several constituencies do not have adequate water supply, the roads are in bad condition while public health and educational facilities need to be upgraded. Obviously, funding these projects is not a problem. So what stops the elected representative from utilising the funds for developmental work? Is it indifference and lackadaisical attitude on the part of the elected representatives?
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Fillip to India’s
space mission
India’s SpaDeX docking mission has unequivocally underlined its tremendous space capabilities. Two satellites already sent to space on December 30, were united or connected to explore exciting opportunities.
Docking or joining or connecting two satellites, by bringing them to the same orbit like a single object, has thus become achievable, thanks to the redoubtable ISRO. Multiple space launches with a common aim is now easier for India.
This will help scientists prepare for upcoming space missions including Chandrayaan-4, manned mission to the space and moon and building of space stations.
The unwavering hard work and missionary zeal by the ISRO scientists, in the third attempt, is a tribute to their never say never attitude.
After the Chandrayaan-2 setback, ISRO has recouped admirably well, and after the soft landing of Chandrayaan-3, it seems “sky is never the limit” for the country’s proud space organisation.
It is pertinent to mention that the Centre has announced the creation of India’s own “Bharatiya Antriksh Station” by 2035.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola