Going nuts
It’s now final. We can now sing a requiem for Goa’s time-honoured and hallowed coconut tree and the much-revered coconut, after its downgrading to the status of a plant. The implications of the new amendment is that any coconut tree in the state , irrespective of its girth, branches and height, is now at the mercy of vested interests who are free to cut and hew the tree at will and without the mandatory permission required under the ‘Protection of Trees Act’ of Goa Daman and Diu. Such strange and skewed logic has shocked the people of Goa, who are wondering what awaits them next. Probably it is now the turn of man to be downgraded to the level of his ancestral clone, the monkey, from whom he has supposedly evolved.
A F Nazareth, Porvorim
Let leaders lead
Michael Vaz from Merces has stated on January 8 in some of the sections of the press that Parrikar should spend more time in Delhi rather than coming often to Goa to have fish curry and rice. I have a different viewpoint. In my opinion a leader must be trusted to know what is best for him to do or not to do and we are no one to dictate terms to these leaders. Perhaps they have a second in command who will step in when any catastrophe takes place in the absence of the leader. Perhaps they can handle issues from afar. The point is that they are unanswerable to us for the outcome - but we don't have to prescribe how they do their job. Even Narendra Modi or Pope Francis are most of the time travelling all over the world rather than being present at their post. Time will show us the outcome. Parrikar's home is in Goa and he has taken the assignment in Delhi, and we should trust him to balance his availability in such a way that he is fair to both.
Stephen Dias, Dona Paula
Protecting Goa
It is indeed good news that Goa’s anti-terror squad has now got far better infrastructure than before. Those involved with terror activities are slowly stepping up their operations in India, especially since the Indo-Pak peace talks have now begun and the country is also working with Afghanistan on many issues. There is nothing that terror groups would like more than to foster a sense of disharmony among these nations. With Islamic State slowly spreading their tentacles across the world, India is a soft target in many ways, as we have seen on a number of occasions, including the dreaded 26/11. Goa is host to many nationalities as the anti-terror squad here needs to be vigilant. God forbid something happens in sunny Goa. With tourism on the decline as it is and no other proper industry bringing in adequate income, a terrorist attack with put a major dent in our economic hopes, not to mention that death and destruction that comes with a deadly attack.
Bhushan Kamat, Panaji
