By Rajan Narayan
AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when Health Minister Vishwajit Rane decided to employ caretakers in all government hospitals in Goa including the Goa Medical College & Hospital. For a Saturday following the week when Goan villages refused to provide land for the proposed new Konkan railway stations. For a Saturday following the week when the disturbing news that 60% of the cashew fenny available in Goa is extracted from cashew apples imported from Maharashtra. For a Saturday following the week when doctors as general practitioners are more loyal to pharma companies who reward them lavishly than their patients.
AND a few stray thoughts on Health Minister Vishwajit Rane deciding to employ caretakers in all government hospitals in Goa, including the Goa Medical College & Hospital. Vishwajit Rane has promised to provide caretakers for patients at subsidised rates. The present rate for caretakers is not Rs500 per day but Rs1,000 for a 12-hour shift. If you need a caretaker on a full time basis for a whole day you will have to pay a minimum of Rs40,000 to Rs60,000 per month. Over 99% of the caretakers are bhaile. I have no problem with them except that none of them have any training.
They come from neighbouring states or states further away because Goa is the only state which offers good money for workers who are neither educated or skilled or with barely minimal training and cluing up from their job agents. In the case of professional and non-professional caretakers their number multiplied during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns when family members ran short of someone to stay with their patients day and night. It is my observation most caretakers are either Muslims or Hindus and a few Catholic nurses who have turned to doing caretaking of patients in their senior years for some income. I haven’t had a single Catholic caretaker to date.
The problem with the present lot of migrant caretakers is not only that their rates extortionist but they are also unreliable and are prone to disappearing instantly. Most have their families back in their villages in Karnataka or Tamil Nadu or Kerala. So if a crisis crops up in the family back home they will vanish without notice or very short notice. For over a year I was spending an average of Rs75,000 per month on the caretakers. Besides the Rs1,000 per shift, the caretaker expected Rs100 for lunch or dinner separately.
In fairness however, I must admit that if you are lucky many of the caretakers can also be honest and don’t cheat patients. Even though they may spent more time on their mobile than keeping an eye on the patient. Caretakers are a sad lot despite the big money they earn. They cannot afford holidays as they have no paid holidays. They only get paid if they work on a day to day basis.
They also are at the mercy of the agents who take a big cut in return for providing rudimentary accommodation and food to them till they become independent. There is no guarantee of continuity of work. If the patients get better and go home or die they are unemployed till the next assignment comes up.
THE wards of the GMC are haunted by caretakers looking for patients who need caretaking and someone to run sundry errands. Even if the government offers young Goan men and women contract jobs at Rs15,000 per month they will find many takers. This is because even in permanent government contract jobs there are temptations for Goans and of course Vishwajit Rane is a genius in creating job opportunities for the young people from Sattari. Now there are no more jobs for nurses and multi-tasking ward attendants. Even the job of barbers has been filled in with young people from Sattari and Sanquelim, the chief minister’s constituency.
I dare say the new slot for caretaker’s jobs will probably go to the Sattari and Sanquelim constituency. Rane must ensure that those recruited undergo at least intense training for six months before being allowed to attend to patients. The government can take the help of Caritas, the only organisation which offers a one-year training course for caretakers. Unfortunately, even Caritas takes a big commission from caretakers it directs to patients in need.
NO NEW RAILWAY STATIONS PLEASE
AND a few stray thoughts on Goan villages refusing to provide land for the proposed new Konkan railway stations. Konkan railway has proposed to set up half-a-dozen new railway stations in the villages of Goa. At the moment there are only two railway stations in the villages, the one at Thivim and Carambolim in Old Goa to connect to North Goa and besides the stations at Sanvordem, Margao, Vasco, and half-a-dozen stations in South Goa.
Given the poor connectivity in Goa, one would have thought that Goans villages would welcome more railway connectivity. The public bus service in Goa is very inadequate and in any case stops in the evening by about 7pm, except in the urban so called city areas. Goa does not have a metro serviced. Private public transport like taxis, auto-rickshaws and motorcycle pilots, are very expensive.
The problem is that railway stations in Goa are associated with an influx of migrants. It is an established fact that the rush of migrants increased hugely after the Konkan Railway came up. Before that most migrants were from Karnataka who came by the South Central Railway. Even now Karmali and Margao railway stations witness the arrival of hundreds of new migrants with every train arrival.
Not surprisingly, the villagers who have to compete with migrants for jobs, are now wisely rejecting proposed new railway stations by the Konkan Railway. Goans are already afraid that they are losing their identity as more and more migrants flood Goa.
It is estimated that over 40% of the population of Goa now comprise migrants. While earlier migrants were primarily from Karnataka and Maharashtra, Goa in recent years has witnessed a flood of migrants from Uttar Pradesh, the North East and of course even Nepal. Significantly the bulk of the employees in the casinos are from the North East states. There is however a need for a suburban railway system at reasonable rates which will connect all major urban areas from Pernem to Canacona.
WHITHER CAJU FENNY?
AND a few stray thoughts on the disturbing news that 60% of the cashew fenny available in Goa is extracted from cashew apples imported from Maharashtra. Contrary to historical belief the neighbouring districts of Goa like Sawantwadi produce large quantities of cashew apple crop. In contrast rampant conversion of orchards has reduced cashew plantations in Goa.
The irony is that Goa has a GI (Geographical Index} tag for cashew fenny. This means that no other state can use the word fenny for the liquor that is produced from cashew apples. The Goan manufacturers of fenny have now began sourcing their supply of cashew apples from outside the state. Goan distilleries of course claim that fenny made from local cashew apples is superior to that of the fenny made from Maharashtra cashew apples. Apparently, the fenny coming from Maharashtra is of inferior quality and is mostly sold to tourists in the North Goa tourism belt.
Not only fenny but even the cashew nuts available in Goa are allegedly imported from East Africa. There is also a racket of manufacturing fake cashew nuts from pieces of broken cashew. These are made in cashew moulds. If you find a perfectly made cashew nut it is likely to be fake as nature does not produce perfect cashew nuts or something like that.
PHARMA COMPANIES LURES
AND a few stray thoughts on doctors as general practitioners who are more loyal to pharma companies who reward them more lavishly than their patients. I have come across several GPs in Goa who have huge stock of “samples” given to them by pharma companies. The next time you go to visit you doctors don’t be surprised to see most of the chairs being occupied by medical representatives carrying their laptops.
All pharma companies are obsessed with conducting clinical trials of their new drugs. They are therefore willing to supply any amount of their products to doctors with large practices. The more ethical doctors use the samples to provide free medicines to a few patients. Unfortunately, there is an increasing number of doctors who sell the samples to their patients.
I have had the misfortune of visiting a new GP who loads every patient a huge quantity of tablets. The problem with any medicine prescribed by any doctor is that they all have side effects. Thanks to one of my colleagues I have learnt to check out the tablets prescribed on Google for side-effects. Self-medication is bad enough but getting prescriptions on the phone without the doctor physically examining you is even more dangerous.
On the presumption that I may have an ulcer in my stomach I was prescribed two very strong medicines to control acidity. It’s only later that I discovered that this tablet has severe side effects in the form of diarrhoea, not to mention nausea. The body is a very delicate mechanism and immunity levels decline with age. Senior citizens have to be extra cautious when trying any new medication.
I also wish that successful general practitioners install more comfortable chairs in their waiting rooms for patients. Most of them have plastic bucket chairs which are very hard on the back and backside of old and frail patients – who are not naturally padded.
NO END TO DOGGY WOES
AND a few stray thoughts on the continuing menace of stray dogs on the beaches of Goa. Like domestic tourists, stray dogs also are attracted to foreign tourists. There have been several instances of foreign tourists being attacked by a pack of aggressive stray dogs, particularly on the beaches of south Goa.
In the latest incident, a 64-year-old tourist from the UK was bitten on the thigh by a stray dog when he was jogging down Mobor beach. There have also been instances of dog attacks not only on tourists but also on locals by fierce species of pet dogs like pit bulls. The general problem is that a lot of people tend to feed stray dogs but are unwilling to take responsibility for them.
Indeed, the number of stray animals in Goa keeps increasing. There are stray cattle not only on beaches but strolling even on main roads in Goa’s urban streets. A favourite parking space for stray cattle and dogs is the road connecting Dona Paula circle to the Bambolim highway, past International Center Goa and Goa University complexes. The pavements are packed in certain sections with dogs waiting to be fed by folk who come in their cars to drop by food for them in the morning and evening. And if by any chance the food is delayed or does not come…the dog chase of passing cars and bikers begins.