BJP HATAO, BETI BACHAO? Is this an India for women? Ask these Goa Pradesh Youth Congress protestors to highlight the rioting and ethnic cleansing going on in the small north-eastern state of Manipur since May 3, 2023. Various speakers at the protest at Azad maidan on July 21, 2023 highlighted the horrific incidents which have taken place in Manipur, incidents hushed up officially for almost two months till the videos surfaced on social media depicting Manipur women being paraded naked through the streets, abused and later gang-raped by civilian “criminals” in possession of deadly arms. Where are human rights in India today? Will the BJP reassure Indian women in Manipur or in the rest of India? It is now or never, civil society must come together and condemn the horrific incidents in Manipur.
SALIGAO, A PERMANENT GARBAGE DUMPING?
THE State government takes full advantage of the casual or susegaad attitude of the Saligaokars and has now given go-ahead green signal to the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) to transport additional 30 more tons (from the current 20 tons) of Sonsoddo waste piled up in the old treatment plant, to the Saligao garbage treatment plant on a daily basis.
The government hell-bent on bringing garbage from all over Goa to this treatment plant which is already working beyond its capacity. It is determined to turn this once lovely heritage village of Saligao into a permanent garbage dumping yard without concern for Saligaokars living here for generations.
Why can’t the government set-up mini-garbage treatment plants in all the villages to permanently sort out the garbage problem, instead of allowing transportation of more and more garbage from some far-away places to one garbage treatment plant in Saligao and expect Saligaokars to do charity for the whole of Goa? As the expense of destroying their village for no good reason?
This most controversial of Saligao Solid Waste Management Plant was selected most ill-advisably atop the Saligao-Calangute plateau by the late Manohar Parrikar-led BJP government (with the backing then local MLA Dilip Parulekar), after spending a whopping Rs140 crore fooling the people of Saligao and vicinity who did protest strongly along with NGOs. A few prominent residents also went on a sponsored so-called “study tour” to Germany, to somehow convince them into supporting the government’s plan (which they did later after having a good time in Germany) and the plant came up atop the Saligao-Calangute plateau. It was inaugurated with fanfare and hype by Manohar Parrikar who promised that only Salaigao and surrounding coastal areas garbage would be taken care of by the only 100 tons of garbage per day plant at that time.
The people of Saligao were backstabbed and the promise not kept and soon from across north Goa made their way to the plant for so called treatment. Today the plant has turned into a nuisance for the villagers with slow expansion (despite protests at every stage) and the situation has gone from bad to worse. There is foul smell in the air and contamination and pollution of the surrounding area (which plant authorities deny) with villagers finding their once sweet well water no longer potable for drinking purposes. The waters of the once famous Salmona Sprints at Saligao too has been polluted and the site in a sorry garbage-strewn site open for all kinds of construction activities and mindless encroachments.
Saligaokars (irrespective of caste, creed and religion) should stop listening to false assurances from power-hungry new-breed of politicians and come together to stop any more garbage coming to the Saligao waste treatment plant – no more dumping in Saligao, long live Saligao.
—Jerry Fernandes, Saligao
CANCEL NATIONAL GAMES!
AFTER the long drawn out Kala Academy fiasco it would be in public interest to cancel the upcoming National Games and at least a few heads should roll. The same minister (who just happens to top the list for the most criminal cases against Goan MLAs) was entrusted with the organisation of the games. Luckily for the Goa Taj Mahal’s Bahadur Shah there were no casualties this time. In an interview Gaude pointed fingers at the contentious Atal Setu bridge and asked why he alone is being singled out with allegations of being corrupt?
He has a point. Goa’s MLAs have for long been getting away with dacoity and mass murder with no forthcoming punishment at all. The National Games will see the best athletes and their death or maiming of even one criminal negligence must be pre-empted and avoided.
It may seem to be a moot point but with India showcasing astronomical leaps in technology, Goans should demand all government expenditure reports to be posted online every month for taxpayers to keep track of. India is on a pricey mission to bomb the moon, while our right to AI- powered oversight remains a pipe dream!
— Chris Fernandes, Miramar
I HAIL from the tiny state of Goa, the only one in the Indian Union where a Common Civil Code has been in operation for the past two centuries or more. I was under the impression that it was introduced by the Marquis of Pombal in Portugal and its colonies around 1760 following the Vizier’s tiff with the Catholic Church, as represented by the Jesuits who were powerful in Portugal at that time.
Actually, it was introduced a century later. Reforms thrust down the throat will produce bitterness that will weaken the unity that is essential for India’s security. The present Chief Minister of Goa Dr Pramod Sawant, in a futile attempt to create dissensions, where none existed, between Hindus and Christians, stated that many churches had been built in Goa by the Portuguese on the debris of destroyed Hindu temples.
He also said that many more temples would have been destroyed but for the intervention of Shivaji’s Maratha warriors. It is true that the Marathas did harass the Portuguese with occasional raids.
— Julio Ribeiro, Goa
LAND SLIDE LIKELY AT THE HILL NEAR ROSARY HIGH SCHOOL
A HUGE boulder is hanging at a hill off Green Rosary High School and any time it may loosen and roll down on several houses mostly belonging to the weaker sections of OBC and ST residing here. If no action is taken by competent authorities disaster awaits the people residing here and homes will be destroyed.
This matter is being pursued by our local corporator, Nelson Cabral, and he has to contact higher authorities, especially the Forest department. Hope there will be some good work done before the worst happens!
–Stephen Dias, Dona Paula
JUSTICE DELAYED, JUSTICE DENIED
ON July 17 while we observed International Justice Day, it was time to reflect on the fact that even in a small State like our Goa there is a very huge pendency of cases. The whopping number of cases pending across various courts in the State is a matter of concern. While new cases are adding to this pile up daily, a lot of senior citizens are in queue while justice eludes and is lost in time. The fountain of justice must flow while dispensing the rule of law to the last person in the queue in a timely and truthful way.
The Judiciary is the common man’s last hope for justice to be done them. It cannot fail to deliver as dispensation of justice is an absolute essential service to be provided uninterrupted.
Justice Rajendra Menon, while retiring as the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court in 2019, said that until and unless we are able to deliver timely justice to the citizens, the faith in the system may erode and if such a thing happens, it would be a disaster for the democratic system of this country. He expressed this concern while noting the huge dependency of cases and long delays in their disposal.
— Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar