RACING IS LIFE!

LIGHTER MOMENTS AT THE IRONMAN 70.3 ENDURANCE TRIATHLON……How light is my aero bicycle? Participant Tim Tim Sharma’s brother Ankush (in pic) dared a reporter at miramar beach circle to pick up the cycle with two fingers but she managed with two hands to her wonderment! These bikes cost Rs1 lakh plus, plus, shared Ankush…And the bike weighs only 7.02 Kg! They’re only comfortable for speeding though and not gentle cycling around! Most aero bikes are made in china.

TCP MINISTER, SCRAP PERNEM ZONAL PLAN

THE Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA) on Oct 11,2023 has rightly demanded to immediately de-notify the controversial Pernem zoning plan, stating that there is no provision in the Town and Country (TCP) Act to keep the plan in abeyance.
The GBA has further demanded to know since when the Union Home Minister became part of planning process in the state and to invoke people of the State in the planning process as per the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments. It has also said that if the TCP Minister Vishwajit Rane wants to rely on the dictates of the Union government on decisions pertaining to the zoning plan, then he should step down immediately.
Vishwajit Rane is currently heard giving his own silly excuses and refusing to scrap the said controversial draft zoning plan despite strong protests from the villagers of Pernem taluka, does he want to turn the whole of Pernem into one concrete jungle by slowly auctioning it to the builders/real estate lobby, to make some quick bucks for himself in the long run in Goa?
I feel that if Vishwajit Rane wants to really prove his own innocence in the above matter then he should scrap the controversial zoning plan of Pernem taluka immediately and go to draft a new one after consulting/taking the people of the same taluka into full confidence in future. Hope better sense prevail…
—Jerry Fernandes, Saligao

RESTORE OUR SUGARCANE FACTORY!
SUGARCANE is indigenous to India and is the main source of sugar, Jaggery (gur), brown sugar (khandsari) molasses, biofuel, fiber, fertilizer and a myriad of by-products. India is the world’s largest producer of sugar and the second-largest producer of sugarcane in the world. The sugarcane industry is a significant source of employment in India.
It is so very unfortunate that Goa’s only sugarcane factory has been inoperative for some years. It would be beneficial for our Goan sugarcane cultivators, and the economy of our State if the government could take concerted measures to revive this much needed factory instead of burdening our cultivators to take their crop to the neighbouring States.
The production of sugar locally would incentivise our growers to grow more and ensure a readily available product with multiple uses, at a favourable price for consumers. The operation of the sugarcane factory when it restarts would have to be restructured and run efficiently as a profitable venture and not as a white elephant.
It is hoped that our Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant will take the necessary steps to ensure that our Sugar Factory is fully restored, updated and equipped with adequate human and technological resources to take full advantage of a thriving and lucrative national and global sugarcane industry. Let’s enjoy the sweet taste of success from a local thriving sugarcane industry as soon as possible!
—Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar

PEDESTRIAN WALKS NOT SMOOTH!
THE Corporation of the City of Panaji are unable to maintain good footpaths for pedestrians to walk. Since there exist lots of obstructions such as trees, stray animals and the uneven tiles that could be the main reason. Let me suggest here that CCP instead of engaging women manpower, they can hire special made footpath-clearing vehicles similar to those in other developed countries and this will be more economical in the long run. May be a few trees which are the most obstructive may be removed or trimmed.
Hope they take note of this and improve the pedestrian walks or footpaths starting from Miramar up to the Ferry Wharf in Panaji or Panjim.
—Stephan Dias, Dona Paula