Remembering
Monte Cruz
On August 27, 2024, Goa lost its former Sports Minister due to his brief illness. The former Benaulim MLA served the people of Goa and his remarkable achievement was building the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium which was completed within months. The said place behind Damodar Temple at Fatorda, was mainly occupied partly by many residences and the same was negotiated for development of the sports ground. The Margao town has Rajendra Prasad Stadium, which also has MCC club. The stadium was needed at that time for sports activities as several football matches and ODI matches were played. In 2007, we witnessed the India-Australia match. Only Monte Cruz could achieve this during Pratapsingh Rane’s tenure and will be remembered for the said sports ground.
The State government should named one stand in the stadium in his honour.
Raju Ramamurthy, Vasco
Reclaim, use abandoned mining land for projects
It must be said that hill cutting and conversion of fields for housing projects by filling them with earth is going on unabated in the State.
A lot of damage has already been done since a significant amount of illegal hill-cutting activities have been taking place for a long time. Several housing projects have already come up on hill slopes.
The impact of cutting of hills and filling low-lying fields are multifold. Landslides have occurred across the State, and hill-cutting is one of the prime reasons for this. Filling of low-lying fields for housing projects obstructs the natural flow of water during monsoon, leading to flooding. With so many mega housing projects coming up in a small State like Goa, land has become scarce and is available at a premium. It is probably time to fall back on the land that is left unutilised.
One such land is the abandoned mining land. The abandoned mining land is where extraction of ores and minerals has occurred. This land, if not attended to, can pose serious threats to human health and the environment.
However, after the physical and environmental hazards are removed, the land can be reclaimed. Vegetation can be introduced and reforestation can be carried. This process allows the area to return to its natural state. These abandoned mining pits could also be utilised for housing projects by filling them with earth and also use flat mining lands for real estate development.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Shut courts, save taxpayers’ money
The Yogi government in UP has approved a controversial new digital media policy incentivising positive coverage about its work by social media influencers and digital platforms, while threatening legal action against content that it deems objectionable, indecent, obscene or antinational.
On the other hand ‘influencers’ and platforms, which propagate the ‘achievements’ of the sarkar shall get lucrative advertisements and also stand to earn upto Rs 8 lakh a month for video content that paints the sarkar in a positive light notwithstanding the actual situation on the ground.
This is a brazen attempt by the saffronists to capture the digital media space, instill fear, muzzle dissent and punish critics.
‘Antinational’ posts can attract incarceration upto three years and life imprisonment in severe cases. Now, this begs the question, who is to decide what is ‘anti-national’? Any random Tom Dick and Harry, who is an adherent of the Sanghi ideology, can flag a post as seditious, and the UP sarkar can throw the content creator behind bars. As per the government, this policy will provide employment to youth and agencies, that are active in the digital domain. I am sure that many other BJP-ruled States will follow suit. Of what use are courts in the country, if every State starts passing such cunningly drafted Machiavellian ordinances to make people pat the government’s back and put dissenting voices behind bars. It is better to shut all courts in the country and save taxpayers’ money.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Curtail ‘influence’
in govt jobs
The authorities should curtail the practices of political influence in recruitment for government jobs.
Such irregularities have become a bane of the public recruitment process at various levels resulting in litigation across the country. Youth say that to get a government jobs, bribing and political influence are inevitable. In the past, there were allegations levelled against the government by its own MLAs. Adopting malicious practice in the recruitment process in various departments should not be a passion. These practices have serious implications for the functioning of government departments and the delivery of public services.
Hence, people love government jobs because their salary is guaranteed every month. And such government employees never have to fear about their future. He/she can retire peacefully without bothering about the future. For decades, government jobs have been acknowledged as the most comfortable and secure employment option.
It must ensure merit-based recruitment in a free, fair and transparent manner. It’s also said that certain jobs will disappear in the future due to the evolution of AI, robotics and coding.
K G Vilop, Chorao
Enough is enough
Enough was enough a long time ago, even before the brutal rape and killing of Nirbhaya.
But it is good to hear this coming from the President of the country.
Actually there are many rapes and killings happening all over India and Manipur in particular, which the Government of India is silent about. Hope at least now, the highly-vocal Prime Minister of India will listen to what the President has said.
Matias Lobo, Tivim
Coping with grief
Life is not a bed of roses; grief is a state of intense sadness due to an irreparable absence, or an irreplaceable loss, of loved ones.
Grief is extremely disturbing to the individual as well as the society because it transcends the emotional aspect to envelope physical, behavioural and cognitive facets of the affected.
Especially, ‘complicated grief’, which runs into few months, or more, can be shattering to the concerned.
Coping up with stress or grief requires tenacity and demands companionship. It needs a compassionate outlook on the part of the society. ‘Grief Awareness Day’, is observed in the United States on August 30, and was founded by author Angie Cartwright whose book ‘My Grief Diary’ shaped the society to be in sync with people affected by remorse.
Grief passes through several stages like denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. The society has to be with brooding people through thick and thin. ‘Helping hands and lending ears’, they say, are crucial for a person to overcome grief. Some people feel tears are languages of grief and laughter is cure for grief. But it is easier said than done, though friendship and friends can reduce grief to half.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s words of wisdom: “There is no grief like the grief that does not speak” readily come to mind. Ultimately, as American writer and journalist Anne Roiphe said: “Grief has two parts-the first is loss and the second is remaking of life.” Rebuilding is a collective responsibility.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola