civic forum
Overcrowded Mapusa
Vivek Fernandes, Mapusa
Mapusa city is well known for the Friday Market and for traffic mismanagement. The vehicles always crowd the road starting from the Aldona bus stand till the taxi stand. Besides, the Mapusa market shop owners or sellers occupy the place reserved for parking. Due to lack of parking space, people park their vehicles in any available vacant space.
The Mapusa Municipality should take up this matter or otherwise there will be no space for people to walk.
Water crisis in Candolim
G Madhu Sudhan Rao, Candolim
There has been erratic PWD water supply in Candolim area forcing the residents to buy water for drinking purpose. Water is available just once or twice a week for one or maximum two hours, with very low pressure. It is pathetic to note that hotels in Candolim area get 24 hours water supply throughout the week. It seems the PWD officials are releasing more water to commercial areas. The matter should be urgently looked into by the concerned authorities.
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Improve BSNL service
Augustus Alphonso, Vasco
The Vasco BSNL Telecom customer care office should strictly limit their service of accepting bill payments to maximum 2 or 3 bills per person. Several people are left waiting in a queue for a long time as receipts for telephone bills are being issued by a single person. Such inconvenience to customers should not be repeated under any circumstances in the future.
Parking at High Court
Melwin Ribeiro, Panjim
For quite some time, I have been commuting to and fro from Fontainhas to downtown Panjim, taking the short route which passes through the High Court at the Lyceum.
What I fail to understand is why the concerned authorities do not locate a suitable parking place for all four and two-wheelers. These vehicles, belonging not only to a few common citizens, but also to High Court advocates and government personnel, are parked in such a way that it becomes difficult for pedestrians and vehicles to negotiate the sharp turns at two points. The vehicles are even parked in front of entrances of residences, and on both sides of the road! Will the concerned authority kindly look into this?
Lethargic BSNL service
Savio Pinto, Nagoa
Come monsoon, and my BSNL telephone line plays hide and seek every alternative day. I have been bitterly complaining to the BSNL office in Verna for months now, but there seems to be no end to my misery. I was a proud customer with a broadband connection, but its functioning is a nightmare.
Very often when I complain, the line/Internet starts working, but by evening the connection disappears. I cannot hear the call, as the line has erratic disturbances.
I feel this is daylight robbery by BSNL. We regularly pay the broadband fees, but rarely get connectivity. The Verna Exchange people blame it on theft of cables or shortage of manpower or the linesman being on leave… Is that any excuse? Please someone in BSNL help me.
Negligent linesman
Pravin U Sardessai, Adpai
On Saturday 12 June, a sodium vapour lamp in a faulty position near the Kapdi residence at Varkhandem in Ponda was re-fixed in a correct position. But the dirt accumulated inside this lamp was not cleared. Shouldn’t the concerned linesmen remove the dirt to assure sufficient light on the road?
The higher authorities at the Electricity Department in Ponda should take a serious view of such a negligent and lethargic attitude from the concerned linesmen; those who do incomplete work need to be taken to task without succumbing to any political pressure. The interests of pedestrians should be first priority.
Lack of traffic sense
Mauro Fernandes, Anjuna
The government’s proposal to make wearing of helmets mandatory for pillion riders needs to be applauded. It is absurd to make protection compulsory only for the rider because, in case of a mishap, both the rider and the pillion rider are equally vulnerable.
Another decision that is baffling is the mandatory use of helmets only on highways. Our interior village roads are very narrow and dangerous, and more prone to accidents than the National Highways.
But simply issuing challans to errant riders will not solve the problem. It will only fill the government coffers and the pockets of some RTO and Traffic police officers. They are not at all committed in inculcating road sense and traffic discipline among motorists.
The Transport Department should make the rules more stringent, increasing fines threefold. The RTO and Traffic Cell should function more cohesively, without political interference.
Tar ball menace
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
The appearance of tar balls, oily substances and discoloration of the sea-water along the shoreline of Baga-Sinquerim, Anjuna, Vagator and Morjim in North Goa is a matter of concern. Unfortunately, the government has not shown any willingness to find the cause of this phenomenon, which occurs every year before the monsoon.
It appears that some ships are discharging oil waste on the high seas which washes up as tar-balls on the shore. This can be a health risk, as some sea water is invariably swallowed while swimming. The oily residue can have an adverse effect on the skin and the eyes.
The government should show some concern for the health of the aam admi and tourists, and get to the bottom of the problem. If need be, the Coast Guard could be asked to keep a watch on ships discharging oil on the high seas.
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 [email protected]. 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.
