Are politicians owners of our athletes?
The appropriate charges have been framed and FIR has been filed by the female athletes against the President of the Wrestling Federation of India, so that s stringent verdict is passed against him if he is found guilty of sexual harassment.
I fail to understand the logic applied by our President in furthering his interest instead of the Athletes’ interest. Do they think that they are become the owners of our athletes? No my friends, by inflicting sexual harassment on your own sisters you are committing a big mistake. On top of it all, you are a lawmaker in the Parliament and analyzing your tactics on pouncing on your prey like a lion you create more miserable situation for your victim. This does not suit your Indianness.
Sexual harassment is not a new phenomenon; it has been in existence since time immemorial. Take one case that happened in Goa just below my nose about 60 years ago. Somewhere in 1964, the first All Goa Athletics Meet after the ouster of Portuguese rule in Goa was in progress at Santa Cruz football ground. It was preceded by the Annual All Goa Inter School Athletics Meet where maintaining its tradition, St Joseph’s High School, Arpora, retained its general Championship, this writer winning medals/trophies in 100, 400 and both the relay events. Suddenly in the morning session on the 3rd day of this Meet, one young girl with tears in her eyes approached me to tell that one of the ground supervisors approached her and tried to touch her bottom. Then I took her to the Principal of Arpora School whose reply was very simple: just keep a distance from that supervisor. These uncultured persons are a great liability to Goa. They survive only on the certificates they bring from their home states.
A Veronica Fernandes, Candolim
Walk-in interviews need a re-think
Since a few years several companies, colleges, universities, research institutions etc. commenced the trend of ‘walk-in interviews’ for jobs wherein applicants attend interview without sending prior applications. This is convenient for the recruiters and candidates as money is saved on printing CVs, interview letters, and postage charges and time is saved on screening the candidates. On the interview day, the candidates report a little early. The problems crop up when some candidate/s may not have the exact qualifications that the employers seek but may be close enough. The person who checks the certificates may be unaware and will not allow the candidates to attend the interview. Sometimes the advertisement would mention, ‘qualification in so-and-so subject and allied ones.’ The latter is ambiguous and is subject to interpretation by the candidates, the person outside the room and the interview panel.
To avoid disappointment to and save on travel and other costs by the candidates, recruiters could ask for online applications and relevant documents, take some days to screen them based on criteria sought and then display online the final list of candidates for the interview. In the list the reasons for not calling some candidates need to be mentioned so that they are aware. But in most cases these open and democratic steps are avoided as perhaps non-transparency helps the employers to recruit their pre-identified candidates.
Sridhar D. Iyer, Caranzalem
Walk the talk, Mr PM
Prime Minister Modi was asked by the reporters in the US if the minorities have freedom to practice their own religion in India. The PM responded by saying that if the minorities do not have religious freedom in India then there is no democracy in the country.
So if we look at what is happening in Manipur it certainly looks like India is turning out to be a banana republic under the rule of PM Modi and the BJP.
Matias Lobo, Tivim
‘PWD Goa App’ should include all utilities
On the lines of reporting of potholes, it is learnt that the public will have an App to be able to report about water-pipeline leakages, non-painting of speed-breakers and signboards. The App would be launched very soon and that public should click the photos and post it on the App. The engineers will then be held responsible to resolve the issues according to the PWD minister Nilesh Cabral. The ‘PWD Goa App’ is already being used to report about potholes. This is a good move by the governments, but should also include deficiency in several other public utilities as well including power outage and voltage fluctuations. However, it will not be possible to click photos of power disruption and voltage fluctuations, but could be sent as a message. The general public should also be able to report through the app about non availability of water through the taps, flooding of roads during the rainy season, trees which need trimming and weak trees which need to be cut down. As a matter of fact the general public should be able to report through the ‘PWD Goa App’ every deficiency in public utility which comes under the purview of the PWD and not just a few selected ones.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Mild earthquakes
Innumerable research works are being conducted to pinpoint impending earthquakes. Some specific areas of the world are more susceptible to quakes. Recently, there was a series of mild intensity quakes and aftershocks in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda-Kishtwar region particularly in the Chenab valley. People of the valley are always on their toes because of a US study in 2015 that predicted a major earthquake of more than 8 magnitude on the Richter scale. Some experts say mild earthquakes upto 5 can prevent more severe ones by what is called ‘release of tectonic stress’. Depending upon the severity of earthquakes, India has been divided into four zones. The most active zone, taken under 5, being Jammu and Kashmir, Northeast, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch, part of North Bihar and Andaman and Nicobar. Interconnected land plates between India, Nepal and Burma have rendered Northeast and East India susceptible to tremors. According to a study, about sixty percent of land mass in India is exposed to earthquakes—not a pleasant finding at all. People should be made aware of the fact that earthquakes cannot be predicted, and an aftershock is a natural aftermath of the bigger quake that is not even remotely deadly as the primary quake. Huge buildings, with minimal safety standards are a threat to the stability of the earth.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
Is it ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas’?
It is mournful and deplorable that for over six weeks, Manipur has been engulfed in chaos, while Prime Minister Modi remains silent. He turned his back on Manipur. Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands of people have been wounded, but the PM didn’t say even a single word neither in his speech nor in his ‘Man ki Baat’. The PM should talk about his country and should solve the matter of Manipur violence. As the saying in Arabic goes ‘A leader of the nation is a servant of the nation’. He knows everything, but he is ignoring the reality and only visiting countries throughout the world. First and foremost he should solve his people’s problems and then take up the country’s issues. The country exists because of the people and for the people. Is this ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas’?
Jahangir Ali, Mumbai
