Good move to audit houses
I fully support the decision of the government to audit all houses over 30 years for structural stability, etc, as announced by Dy. CM, Francis D’Souza. Goa has a reputation for bridges falling within 14 years, even falling while under construction, airport ceilings coming down, hospitals and bus stand roofs leaking, and commercial housing buildings either tilting or sinking. Knowing well the quality of material used and the unskilled labour employed, it is advisable to audit all such buildings and structures which are even 10 years old. As regards private houses, the government can take it easy since their owners do the audit every year. If it is going to be done by the government itself, then we can forget about it, because not only will it not be completed in this generation but also because some other competent engineers will have to audit their audit.
Rodney de Souza, Assagao
Criminals in the Assembly
Why should Mickky Pacheco be allowed to get parole and attend the monsoon Assembly session? In fact, why should he still be a minister? His slap was a blatant abuse of power and Mickky should be asked to resign from his ministerial berth. The act of the Nuvem panchas to ask for his parole, so that he can attend the Assembly session is a ridiculous ask. They should be asking for his resignation, but it's clear that he has a strong hold on his constituency. If the people of Nuvem are so concerned that Mickky will not be able to carry out his ministerial duties, then perhaps they should also admonish him for being away and in hiding for two months too.
Bhushan Kamat, Miramar
CBI probe is mandatory
The BJP government should call for an immediate probe into the Louis Berger bribe scam that allegedly involves Goan ministers. This is right along the 'zero tolerance to corruption' statement that was made by Narendra Modi during the build-up to the elections. If the government really believes in this then the CBI probe should pull up the ministers and arrest them for this. The acceptance of bribes is a criminal act, which is why it is also surprising that the two transport department officials who were caught red-handed are now in custody but no progress has been made on the case. The government needs to use these incidents as examples to the rest of the crowd that behaviour like this will not be tolerated. That is of course, if the government is serious about good governance.
Amey Kurtakar, Margao
