Let’s make yoga a way of life
The 10th International Day of Day will be observed today, June 21, with the theme ‘Yoga for Self and Society’. Every year, the International Day of Yoga is observed in order to raise awareness about its benefits to the mind and body.
It is also a day to encourage people around the world to engage in Yoga. The UN General Assembly declared 21 June as the International Day of Yoga. More than 5,000 years ago, yoga started its journey as an ancient Indian science of exercise and healing, passed along from teacher to student through oral tradition and physical practice.
Yoga has several health benefits. It helps with back pain relief and can ease arthritis symptoms. Yoga benefits heart health and helps one to relax and sleep better. When the whole world is suffering from stress and anxiety, meditation has the power to enable one to control one’s thoughts.
This holistic practice inculcates love, generosity and compassion towards others. Yoga is a transformative practice which represents the harmony of mind and body, the balance between thought and action, and the unity of restraint and fulfilment.
It integrates the body, mind, spirit, and soul, offering a holistic approach to health and well-being that brings peace to our hectic lives. We need to make Yoga a way of life.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Govt jobs should be given only on merit
Government jobs are typically supposed to be filled on the basis of merit.
Political influence should ideally not play a role in the selection and appointment of candidates for government jobs.
It is important for government to uphold the principles of meritocracy and ensure that appointments are made based on qualifications and competency rather than political connections.
Merit based recruitment boosts good governance. The accusation that government jobs are distributed among political leaders is common. The recruitment carried out with political influence lacks in quality. Those recruited don’t understand anything.
K G Vilop, Chorao
Rail travel brings sense of anxiety
The accident involving Kanchanjunga Express and a goods train in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district has once again brought to focus the safety measures needed to prevent such mishaps. The tragic incident, which has killed 10 persons, raises the most important question of deploying the anti-collision system Kavach, which was chiefly talked about in the ghastly train accident in Odisha’s Balasore district in June last year. The ageing infrastructure frequently contributes to traffic delays and numerous train accidents in the country.
Despite government data indicating a decline in train accidents and derailments in recent years, such incidents remain tragically incessant. Opinions must be sought from experts by the Railway ministry and the central government on how to prevent train accidents from happening in future, such as improving signalling systems and investing in better technology.
Those were the days when a train journey would evoke a bubbling and childlike enthusiasm among us. But living in modern days with science and technology having advanced so much, undertaking a rail travel still brings a sense of anxiety and disquiet.
Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai
Govt should keep public places clean
Come monsoon and along with it comes the fear of illnesses like dengue, leptospirosis, malaria and other water borne diseases. And then we would find the authorities issuing advisories to take precautions against such diseases.
According to news reports, there is a sudden spurt in dengue cases in Candolim and Nerul and the authorities have issued showcause notices to large number of houses found to be major mosquito breeding hotspots. In Mumbai too, the authorities target housing societies for allegedly causing mosquito breeding spaces. What the authorities need to do is to first ensure that public spaces which fall under the jurisdiction of the civic bodies, be kept clean in order to prevent diseases. Charity begins at home!
Melville X D'Souza, Mumbai
A refocus is essential for Indian Railways
The Kanchenjunga Express rail accident in West Bengal highlights the wrong emphasis placed by the railways in their operational management. Instead of concentrating on safety like investing in better track signalling equipment and installing Kavach across the railway network, they are diverting funds to more visible facilities like the Vande Bharat trains which are now expected shortly in the sleeper format and also Bullet trains.
The present accident is also attributed to driver fatigue because of long working hours and no relief being given in between shifts because recruitment of drivers has been pending for long.
Thus even now it is recommended that the Indian Railways concentrate on improving the quality of service of their existing network to provide safe, healthy and reliable services to the large mass of the population that uses their network rather than go for flashy gimmicks like the Vande Bharat trains and the like. Even in these fancy trains, the speeds touted initially of 90 kmph have rarely been achieved in regular service and the present average speeds of these trains is in the region of 70 kmph no better than our Mail & Express trains of yore or even the Rajdhani trains. Thus a refocus is essential for the Indian Railways.
Srinivas Kamat, Alto St Cruz
No principles left in Goan politics
We are observing that Goan politics is without any logic or principles. The leaders jump from one party to another either for or personal gains or to show that they still alive for personal gains with least regard for public good.
It is high time that the leaders of all parties are elected for public and not for their personal survival by way of remunerations or favours.
Anthony F Fernandes, Arossim