Huge loss
Kudos to your reporting and superb editorial about the Fr Bismark case. It is not easy to do this type of work when majority is on the other side. Hema Sardesai has corroborated your view in her interview. What she says is true. We never stood by him during his fight with the church, when he lost the elections nobody really cared. He was exactly what people describe him now but did they understand this man when he was alive?
As Hema Sardessai said he must have felt low during such times and may have taken anti-depressants. But I don't think she said anywhere that he was suicidal or he has committed suicide and if you take anti-depressant once in a life time, it doesn't mean you are suicidal. Anti-depressants help you to get your chemical balance right and think positively. It is unfortunate that we lost a genuine person and it is a huge loss to Goa and our country too but let’s not act like vultures and prey on the issue.
Prashanti Talpankar, Taleigao
Revive the poti
Some years ago, people used a cloth bag called “poti” which was washable, re-usable and environment friendly, to carry things. When people preferred modern bags, the humble poti bowed out. Today, you have a variety of shopping bags and more popular among them is the carry bag. Plastic bags have some advantages but the disadvantages are more and serious. Although there is a ban on the manufacture of plastic bags below 40 microns, flimsy bags are freely available in the market, and they are given free by the vendors. After use, these bags are thrown out anywhere which is why we see clogged drains, mosquitoes breeding and sick cattle. What is worse, when they are burned, the obnoxious fumes pollute the air, cause skin cancer and respiratory illness. Abroad, people use paper bags. Common sense would tell us that a safe bag like the poti is ideal and the need of the times, but modern lifestyle will not allow us to bring it back. In this situation, the least that we can do is reduce the use of the lethal plastic bags and such plastic things which are not recyclable.
Rodney De Souza, Assagao
Losing tourists
Its end of the November and the presence of foreign tourists in Goa is far less, even compared to last year. Last year many Russian travel companies were closed and as a result many Indian travel companies suffered losses. This year it is worse, the drop in Russian tourists is almost 50 percent, and even the number of English tourists are fewer. The reason behind this is increase in Visa charges and also because prices of food are much higher compared to few years back. Accommodation charges have also increased and long stay and other guests find it difficult to manage with their budgets.
Today we are survived in tourism because of Indian tourist and some of them are good spenders. If this year goes the same way as last year then the state will seriously suffer. We need to change our attitude towards tourists, as well as our state in terms of garbage management etc. Our tourism department should take important steps towards improving tourism in Goa and to increase the number of foreign tourists.
Satyajit Prabhudessai, Benaulim
