Resolve Sancoale issue
on war-footing
Even as former Sancoale sarpanch Premanand Naik’s indefinite fast against the Bhutani Infra project entered its seventh day and the opposition to the project is growing stronger by the day, the Sancoale village panchayat has reportedly sought the opinion of two lawyers and has written to the Advocate General of Goa on revoking the construction license issued to the mega project.
It is learnt that the construction company does not possess several permissions. Hence it appears to be an open-and-shut case and the license needs to be revoked on a war footing. Time is running out as far as the life of the ex-sarpanch who is on an indefinite hunger strike is concerned. His health is deteriorating as he is a senior citizen with several health issues. Several citizens from across the state have been paying a visit to the striking senior citizen inquiring about his health and trying to persuade him to withdraw the hunger strike. However the powers-that-be including the members of the present Sancoale village panchayat seem to be unmoved by the plight of their former sarpanch. Be that as it may it must be said that the indefinite hunger strike has galvanized Goans across the state to raise their voice against construction activities on forest land and by indulging in hill-cutting in their locality. This hunger strike is now not just a fight to save Sancoale village from total destruction but villages across the state where such illegalities are being carried out.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Is the world really
becoming heartless?
Pope Francis issued the fourth encyclical of his papacy denouncing a world that is losing its heart during times of global turmoil. As a citizen of India and being a Goan, I totally agree with the Pope. We are seeing the ugly face of war, people, children losing their lives and there is destruction everywhere. Yes, the people who are ruling this world are becoming totally heartless.
Look at the present scenario which is actually happening in Goa. A senior citizen from Sancoale Premanad Naik is on a hunger strike and is demanding that the government revoke the permissions granted to the Bhutani project. When the villagers are against it, then why is the present dispensation using its power on the people to accept this project which is indirectly damaging nature? Are these so called projects really benefiting Goans or are they indirectly filling the coffers of the government? The present politicians should not take the masses for granted and keep in mind that they have been elected by the people not to dance to the tunes of developers but serve the masses instead.
Anita Fernandes, Verna
Thank you Mapusa
Agri officers
Though the columns of your esteemed daily, we residents of Sangolda would like to thank the Zonal Agricultural Officer Sampatti Dargalkar and her staff for reaching out to farmers and helping to compensate us for the crop loss on time. We would also like to thank the Mechanical Cultivation Officer Satish Kerkar from Mapusa for providing timely service of tractors and harvesters to farmers. With the help of these two officers, we could keep our village green, sow and harvest on time.
Goa indeed needs good officers like them who can reach out to farmers so that the state is not concretised.
We would also like to say a big thank you to O Heraldo for taking up the issues of Sangolda farmers on a timely basis and solving our problems.
Jayanti Kerkar and others,
Sangolda
Weird notions
of obscenity
Last year in Mumbai, the Indian Customs department seized three drawings by Akbar Padamse and FN Souza because it judged them to fall under the category of ‘obscene material’. The lawyer representing the Customs made a big hue and cry about maintaining public order, standards of decency and morality.
Both painters are titans of the Indian art scene and their work is frequently displayed in galleries across the world and also at private events. By the Customs' yardstick, the Khajuraho temples should either be covered or destroyed. Their ineptitude and misplaced moral policing is endemic to the country with lesser artists, stand-up comedians, cartoonists, authors, scriptwriters, filmmakers feeling the heat from law enforcement authorities and politicians with their weird notions of obscenity.
Legal definitions of obscenity remain loose and open to exploitation such as the clause ‘any object that is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest’ per BNS. The commonest ruse is to invoke tradition, if institutions and powerful individuals especially those in the bureaucracy decide to become censors and self appointed defenders of public morality, the autonomy of the creative fraternity will always be under threat. The Indian penal codes also need to be amended in this regard.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Americans should make
the right choice
The contest for the world's s topmost job - office of the President of the US, is coming to a close in another two weeks' time. The Americans will have to choose between a highly temperamental, quixotic and loud mouthed Donald Trump who talks through his hat or the most collected, calm but firm, measured in her utterances and ever smiling Kamala Harris. At a time when the world is witnessing wars involving Israel, Palestine, Iran, Libya, Russia and Ukraine resulting in the death of thousands of innocent people and destruction of their properties, the US needs a President who will be able to assess the situation with an open mind and make efforts to bring peace among the warring nations without adding fuel to the fire.
Under the circumstances, Trump will never be the right person for this job. We cannot imagine such a divisive minded person like Trump to create a congenital atmosphere to bring peace and tranquility to the world. On the contrary, Harris fits well into the job though she too has some short comings which can be set right through counselling and consensus. Hope wisdom will prevail
on the Americans when they mark their ballot papers to elect their new President in two weeks’ time.
Tharcius S Fernando,
Chennai