Good news for Vasco and Baina
I’m truly happy to finally read in The Goan Everyday (February 1) about the laying of the foundation stone for the Development of Vasco City and Baina Beach Beautification, and I hope that this project will be successfully completed within a fixed time frame, unlike the delay that occurred during the completion of the Vasco Ravindra Bhavan project. I have been earnestly following up the matter with the GTDC for at least 5 long years, convincing them to get this important project going, and it was always a pleasure to receive the positive messages from the GTDC MD Nikhil Desai, who kept promising me that the work would be eventually taken up although it was delayed for a while. We can now look forward to this revolutionary project which will surely improve the economy of our town. As I always said, tourism is yet to begin in Vasco-da-Gama and the beautification of Baina beach will put our town at par with other renowned beaches of Goa.
Augustus Alphonso, Vasco
Road rules
Successive government have been just constructing roads and widening existing roads. All they are doing is covering more and more area of the fixed area of Goa with tarmac. And the building lobby is covering it with concrete. Village roads are being widened by destroying people’s houses and compound walls. Footpaths are built on usurped private property that owners have kept as setback. Acquisition is done in some cases by illegal means, when objections raised are deliberately ignored instead of referring them to district courts. Compensations are not paid to public for last 25 years and more, but siphoned out illegally. What happened to lakhs of compensation money that went missing from South District Collectorate?
Our politicians, as well as many Goans think that more roads and wider roads is “development”; that wider roads will decrease road congestion. Dubai has 6 and 8 lane roads, but there are still traffic jams every morning and evening. Everyone has a car there. Good governance in such cases is to limit number of vehicles and have good public transport system; rather than widening roads and destroying our old village heritage. Why can Goa not restrict number of vehicles per family? Let extra vehicles be heavily taxed. Also let us see discipline maintained on the roads rather than just helmets fines.
Dr Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão, Margao
User charges
Facilities like 24 hours water, uninterrupted electricity supply with proper voltage, proper garbage disposal systems in place, completion of sewage piepline work for every household, roads done up, gutters for storm water in place and many others items as cited in my memorandum etc are basic services that we should have by right even if there is no such Smart City plan formula. This farce is as funny as the Swachh Bharat Tax which has crept into every bill without people even being aware of it and without any change in the 'Swachata' of the city. We do not want to pay any extra money for what used to be basic rights all these years. Let this Smart City Mission be buried permanently as it does not suit us on account of “user charges”.
Stephen Dias, Dona Paula
