Foundation stones
The Government appears to have gone into overdrive mode as it is appears to be on a foundation-stone-laying spree specially, in Vasco. It is understood that foundation stones will be laid for a slew of projects in the Port Town by this month-end. The projects include a new ultra-modern transport hub at the KTC bus-stand, construction of a ring-road from KTC bus-stand to Goa Shipyard, retaining-wall at Bhouter besides installation of a booster pump for a water reservoir, etc. Ideally the foundation stones for any project envisaged by the government should have been laid at the commencement of the term of the government and if possible the project inaugurated by the end of the five-year term. However it seems that foundation stones are being laid in a hurry when the elections are just a few months away. It may not be possible for the government to complete most of these projects before the end of its term. No one can guarantee that the same MLAs will be elected for another term and for that matter that the same government will come to power again. If there is a change in power in the state, who knows the projects could be shelved by the party that comes to power. Hence the ground work done by the government for the project will go down the drain. In the past several major projects have met with the same fate whenever there has been a change of government. This is probably one of the reasons why the Goa has not seen much development in the past as compared to other states in the country. In future every government that comes to power should ideally commence a project at the start of the term and try to complete it before the end of the five-year term.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Permanent decisions
There are pros and cons to the recent decision to allow shacks to maintain their structures throughout the monsoon months. There are environmental issues that could crop up, the natural flow of sand and the tide too. But this could turn many unscrupulous shacks owners and others to route sewage out into the sea through a permanent structure. There could also be the use of concrete to fortify the shacks, a now common sight in places like Anjuna and Morjim. The move was obviously to benefit the private shack owners, since there were issues with the recent NGT case. But there are issues that can come out from this. The government will have to conduct regular inspections so as to ensure that nothing illegal happens.
Sanjay Naik, Mapusa
Legalise it?
The police has been busting prostitution rings for a while now in Goa. There have also been issues with drugs in the past. As a tourist destination this is a given. Thailand is an exception where prostitution is not really frowned up but buying and selling drugs is a very serious offence. But other places in the world have their share of these industries and the police don’t interfere much unless it’s out in the open. Over the past few years America has legalized marijuana and has even generated a good amount of revenue from it. Perhaps Goa needs to explore that option, for both prostitution and marijuana?
Bhushan Kamat, Panaji
