Expectations from the govt

Chris Fernandes

They’re at it again. Less than a week after their despicable coup on the  democratic voting process, the BJP  government declared war on Panjim’s share of the Mandovi. Really? You think THIS is what we need? Swarms of questionable, possibly militia affiliated Kashmiris flocking to our close-knit, cultured town to build unnecessary white elephant projects? We need better roads, starting with the laughable Dona Paula bypass; we want the Parade ground cleaned and fit for parades again; ditto the Campal creek, being made fit for actual running water. We would love more cops on the streets like there were when the warmonger Count Vlad Putin flew through our peaceful state. If need be, authorize them to snipe  rash bikers /Formula 1 driver wannabes, as I’m sure their Chinese and Russian counterparts were at that time. 

We demand the mass distribution of free cloth bags in Goa  along with the same strict enforcement of the plastic bag ban that Modi’s Rs 500 note death sentence was carried out . We want you to delegate a ton of able bodied enforcers to protect our sacred beaches from bus loads of litterbugs (I presume your cohorts in Tiracol could recommend a few); Goans are a good, secular, honorable and God-fearing people and we insist this is implicitly mentioned in future ad campaigns for Goa’s prospective pilgrims. 

 We want full-time guidance counselors in our schools and AV classrooms in colleges, better infrastructure for our government-run polytechnics and ITIs, value education for our innocent kids to teach them the dangers of dabbling with the many deadly vices/moral landmines that Goa imports to satisfy tourists. We also request you, if possible, to uphold the Constitution that bans the use and relatively open sale of psychotropic drugs in India (read Anjuna et al). I would suggest a generous reward in excess of Rs 2 lakhs to anyone reporting the same; this  would drastically decrease drug peddler numbers. 

We would like the judiciary to do its God-given duty and prosecute the law breakers including those born with silver spoons in their mouths, IAS officers, ex and current political godfathers. Make it mandatory for any and all government tender processes to be recorded on camera and posted on a government website for all to see. Stop using the peoples’ hard earned money to post full page ads on local dailies and instead use this apparently ‘spare’ cash to repair our precious policemen’s decrepit quarters.