Team Herald
pANJIM: On Wednesday, the scene outside the North Collectorate was similar to Tuesday’s chaos around the South District Collectorate building.
Additional Collector II (North Goa) Gopal Parsekar, in a circular issued late Tuesday evening, made it mandatory for every staff in the Collectorate and sub offices, as well as visitors to install the App.
In the morning, some visitors were caught unaware, when they arrived at the North Collectorate. They were refused entry until they had Aarogya Setu app on their smart phones with the status showing “safe.”
While some cooperated, others criticised the decision and questioned if it was to stigmatize people from COVID-19 affected areas.
“The government has a hidden agenda, because if it is really concerned about the health of the people, the App should be mandatory across all the govt departments. Why is the App not compulsory for visiting the Police dept where cases are rising and even the health dept?”, said Ramchandra Mandrekar, who was caught unaware.
Mandrekar who travels to Panjim from Ponda on a daily basis argued that several citizens do not have smart phones. He also questioned the authenticity of inputs fed by Aarogya Setu users as he strongly opposed the circular. “There is no guarantee that the app’s users are feeding correct information? How do we track what’s true and what’s false? It’s a wrong decision of the government to depend on this system,” he said. He suggested the govt should instead, opt for thermal screening of every one.
A local businesswoman Olivia Coutino also slammed the decision, claiming many people are not fortunate in terms of internet connectivity and smart phones. “For example, my parents don’t know how to use a smart phone or any mobile app, which means they will be directly rejected from entering the Collectorate building,” she said. Coutinho added that the App should be made optional.
All the officers, staff and visitors – as per the Tuesday order – were asked to download the App and to come to the office when the application shows the “safe” status for commuting.
“It’s like discriminating from one person to another. The Vasco residents are anyway facing this, because of the fault of the govt. Now why have they started using such a method? The govt should instead focus on thermal screening, if they are concerned about the safety of the general public,” said another visitor to the Collectorate, Usha Pednekar.
