TUESDAY, JULY 02, 2024
Eliminating existence of Christian heritage
The unilateral demolition of the 460 year old St Anthony`s Chapel (Kasnichem Kopel) carried out by the PWD on the pretext of road widening is a clear indication of a colourful exercise to begin with eliminating the existence of Christian Heritage in Goa, thus highly condemnable.
The lame excuse of having no objection from the parishioners of Porvorim is unacceptable since a historical religious monument belong to the entire community of the State of Goa and not only to a few Committee members or the Chaplain or to the hierarchy of The Catholic Church only.
St Anthony is warmly regarded as a mighty Saint for healing from evil. There are many Heritage Monuments of Churches and Chapels in Goa which are under similar threats of their existence for so called development of designing killer highway roads, or for road expansion in urban/rural areas for the benefit of the builder lobby. Tourists flock to our State inorder to view the Heritage Monuments of Old Goa and other such important landmarks of Iconic Immaculate Conception Church in Panjim which is located on the main city crossroads.
It is observed that similar methods of demolition cum relocation have not been adopted for some recently built places of worship on public roads whilst widening D B Marg - Miramar to Panjim road.
The Catholic politicians across party lines along with the Church authorities must rise to the occasion to curb this menace of elimination to Christian Heritage Monuments which are a rich treasure of the State of Goa.
Rui Ferreira, Panjim
Uphold law in letter and spirit
According to reports in the press, following the alleged grievous interlinked crimes of encroachment threatening intrusion and unauthorised demolition of a house and alleged kidnapping of the occupants of the house, it now appears that there is allegedly a multilateral attempt to erase the gravity of the crime, by allegedly bringing pressure upon the victim complainants to withdraw their complaints of alleged encroachment intrusion and kidnapping by some alleged miscreants.
To make matters worse, it appears that now the complainants for reasons best known to them are trying to push the entire incident under the carpet and government should not succumb to these machinations.
Irrespective of how highly connected the alleged miscreants might be, the government must not abdicate its responsibility to upload law and order, by allegedly going soft on the alleged miscreants.
It is the responsibility of the government to pursue the prosecution of alleged miscreant criminals, even if the embattled frightened compromised victim complainants withdraw their complaint, as the complaint still exist on the records.
Rosario Menezes, Vasco
Scrap illegal scrapyards
At least 20 people reportedly fell ill on Thursday after chlorine gas leaked at a scrapyard at Merces which also left residents in the area gasping for breath.
It is learnt that as the leak grew there was an explosion of the gas cylinder which also led to the leaves on the trees and shrubs drying up around the explosion site. Be that as it may, there have been several instances in the past when scrapyards have been gutted in fire incidents. Scrapyards, many of them illegal, usually store several kinds of flammable goods which is an open invitation for a fire incident. Scrapyards may not have the requisite fire-fighting equipment hence are like ticking time-bombs. The various inflammable items that could be present in a scrapyard include tires, oils and hazardous fluids, metals, car batteries, LPG cylinders, etc. It is prudent for the scrapyards to obtain necessary permissions and the premises need to be inspected periodically by the authorities concerned for fire-fighting capabilities.
Scrapyards should not be allowed near residential areas and zones should be demarcated for these yards.
As per guidelines of the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB), scrapyards need to be compliant with regulations of the town and country planning (TCP) department, health department, labour & employment department, revenue department, Goa Industrial Development Corporation, directorate of fire and emergency services as well as the bylaws of panchayats and municipalities.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Assange’s release ends turbulent chapter
The release of Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, marks the end of a turbulent chapter that has spanned over a decade, capturing the world’s attention and igniting fierce debates. His plea agreement ended more than a decade of torment at the hands of US authorities after WikiLeads published troves of embarrassing and incriminating classified US documents.
After twelve years of parturition and detention, Assange’s journey towards freedom has been fraught with controversy, legal battles and polarized opinions. He remains a divisive figure, lauded by some as a champion of free speech and journalism, and derided by others as a criminal, evading justice. Assange’s journey from a celebrated whistleblower to a controversial detainee and back to liberty illustrates the complex, often contentious relationship between state power and the individuals who dare to challenge it.
Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai
Can sale of alcohol be banned in Goa?
Liquor prohibition is an imperative step which would indirectly cause saving in the household. Traditionally alcohol is considered evil in our country. But it’s never an easy decision for a State government to declare a ban on alcohol. That’s primarily because liquor revenues are not easy to ignore and have consistently formed the bulwark of government funds. There is a need to address this issue because of increasing cases of violence and crime.
There have been many instances of drunk driving, domestic violence, rape, financial imprudence and other severe accidents and crimes. Alcohol abuse is harmful and can lead to serious health problems such as brain damage, heart failure, liver disease, cancer, etc if consumed for a longer time period and in excessive amounts. Liquor has been banned in some states in India.
K G Vilop, Chorao
