CIVIC FORUM
Improve Notary services
Nelson Lopes, Chinchinim
The government appoints Notaries to enable common people to avail their services easily. At present, only practicing Advocates are appointed. They are available only after the closure of courts. In the West, Company Secretaries are entrusted with these responsibilities. It is therefore advisable to appoint Advocates who have given up regular practice, to make them available during office hours.
This service is not intended to substitute the profession of the advocates. Notaries usually do not display tariffs or issue receipts with details of the charges. It is therefore difficult to know the real service charge. One gets the impression that the charges depend on individual discretion, and are arbitrary. It is unfortunate that notaries collectively have forced Mamlatdars to stop their helpful services of notarising documents.
Mapusa Market filthiest
Diogo M Fernandes, Mapusa
The Mapusa market has become the filthiest market in Goa. There are pot-holes all over, full of stagnant water. Traders and hawkers do their business on the footpaths meant for smooth flow of pedestrians. Dirty water splashes on the public from vehicles driving in the market, disobeying municipal orders. On Saturday morning, there are huge heaps of garbage, making it difficult to walk. Will the municipality take suitable measures to improve the condition of the market?
Why subways?
Bosco Fernandes, Panjim
About a month back, a young college student was killed while trying to cross the railway track at Comba, Margao. Soon, many began targeting the government authorities for the accident.
The government has constructed subways on NH17 near GMC in Bambolim, Fr Agnel Ashram at Verna, near Nuvem Church, and Navelim Church. But, in spite of fast-moving traffic, many people cross the road instead of using these subways.
The public should be educated to use subways to avoid further accidents. Police should be posted near the subways; they should fine people trying to cross the roads, to create some sense of road discipline.
Speedup road work
Gregory E D’souza, Siolim
The newly laid hot mix carpet on the road at Ganeshpuri has been recklessly dug up by the PWD to construct a storm drain within a few months. The work is on during the monsoon, wasting public money. The work is moving at a snail’s pace. This will further damage the road in future.
Sheer negligence
Melson F M Louis, Margao
The narrow road below the Mungul-Margao overhead railway bridge is in a very bad condition owing to huge potholes, as are several other roads in Margao. At Mungul, a piece of railway track about 5 metres long is lying on one side of the road just below the overhead bridge for over two years. This has still not been cleared by the Konkan Railway authorities, even after building the barrier to indicate the maximum height permissible for transport goods vehicles to pass through. This is sheer negligence by the KRC.
Maintain hygiene
G de Souza, Mapusa
I recently visited a bakery at Mapusa. On seeing the dirty floor, the counter boy asked the only sales girl there to mop up the floor. When customers poured in, the sales girl started serving them with patties, drinks, cakes, etc, without washing her hands.
We read everyday about people getting infected with H1N1 Flu which can cause death. It spreads by touch and mucus droplets while sneezing and coughing. To prevent H1N1 Flu, maintaining hygiene is a necessity, not only in our homes, but also in restaurants and shops selling eatables.
Simplify bill payments
P L Fernandes, Old Goa
People having ancestral houses but living far way are unable to pay their electricity and water bills. The consumers get only about a week to pay the bill, which is accepted only in the specified area office or bank. Online payment is not possible. Why cannot the relevant departments arrange to accept payments from any area office that is convenient to the consumer?
Second, the common man cannot afford to the pay full amount when electricity bills are issued after every three to four months, for reasons known only to the Electricity Department. Can anyone do something about it?
Ignorant Mamlatdar
Angelo C R de Costa, Margao
I am a 73-year-old retiree, a pensioner, non-resident Goan with Dutch nationality. I left Goa around 1975 for Portugal, for purely economic reasons. I returned to Goa in 2008. I have to renew my resident permit every year. I was given to understand by Home Ministry that I am entitled to OCI (overseas citizen of India), provided I can prove 15 years domicile in India after 26 January 1950. A certificate to this effect must be given by the Mamlatdar.
Accordingly, much difficulty and over a period of two months, I obtained my school leaving certificate, my work experience certificate, my birth certificate, swore an affidavit and submitted an application to the Margao Mamlatdar, with notarised copies of relevant documents. I also have Sales Deeds executed by me in 1975 as an Indian citizen. In spite of this, the Mamlatdar refused to issue me the domicile certificate, stating that he cannot give domicile certificates to foreigners.
The Goa NRI cell should intervene and assist me in obtaining the required domicile certificate. I also want to know from the Home Ministry (both Goa and Central) about why our Mamlatdars remain ignorant, when there are thousands of Goans/Indians in need of such services.
Why should Goa face a shortage of Mamlatdars specialised in various services, when we have thousands of law graduates, many of whom are unemployed? Instead, we are spending crores on MLAs and Ministers who really have no work. Will I have to go to court to prove that I was born in Goa and had a domicile over 15 years, so that the Mamlatdar issues a certificate?
Appeal to Aleixo
Mathew Fernandes, Velim
Last year in August, a widow senior citizen approached the ward panch for repair of non-functional street lights, only to be told that the lights would be fixed during Ganesh Chaturthi. As no action was taken even after Ganesh Chaturthi, I myself approached the panch regarding the problem, and was told she does not have bulbs for focus lights.
When told to remove the focus lights and fix tube lights, I was informed that there are no fixtures and to complain to the Electricity Department office in Assolna. Last month, the widow again approached the panch, who shoved a tube light in her hand and told her to fix it herself. Since then, she is requesting every linesman who crosses this side in Rangallim to fix the tube light, who tell her that they should be informed by the panch/panchayat!
Our visits from Panchayat to Panch to Electricity Department have come full circle. But nothing has been done, for a full year now. Another Ganesh Chaturthi is fast approaching. Could Power Minister Aleixo Sequeira please do something about this?
(Do you have a complaint against some authority or service? Are there any violations of the law that you would like to bring to the notice of the public? Do you have any suggestions for improvement and/or redressal of services?
If you do, then write to us at editor@herald-goa.com. With the aim of improving the quality of our civic life, every Monday Herald will publish the best letters on these subjects received during the week. This is in addition to our regular ‘Letters to the Editor’ column.)
