Domestic cylinders at eating establishments
Bona fide domestic consumers are supplied LPG cylinders of 14.2 kg net weight at subsidised rate in order to lessen the burden of high price of cooking gas. People who are in the business of food, refreshments, etc. whose consumption is heavy, are supposed to use commercial cylinders of 19 kg net weight which are not subsidised. In actual practice you find that domestic cylinders are used in many restaurants, tea stalls, etc. The questions that arise here are from which source and how do they get so many domestic bottles and to what extent are they draining the subsidy budget of the government?
On the one hand, many domestic consumers have voluntarily surrendered their entitlement of subsidy, in response to PM’s appeal, to help the poor get a gas connection, while on the other, business people (not all) are drawing undue subsidy. What a contrast. Even if we assume that they buy domestic cylinders at unsubsidised rate, they still pay much less since domestic rate works out to Rs. 42 per kg as against commercial rate of Rs.59 per kg. The Civil Supplies department and other concerned agencies should crackdown on dishonest distributors and consumers and put an end to this malpractice.
Rodney de Souza, Assagao
Right target for Cong
Your comments in the editorial for September 22, that with Rahul Gandhi taking on Modi on every possible issue may have dimmed the focus on Bihar may be right. However, looking at it from another angle it could play dividends. After all, Modi is the only face of the BJP. At least, that is what BJP is projecting. So targetting him may work. Slowly, but surely the shine is wearing off. And crediting him for the bulk of FDI inflows is not correct. Even before Modi, most of the FDI flows came from the same countries.
Albert Colaco, Nuvem
Mess on the beach
The Goa Shack Welfare association members who put up shacks on the beach during the tourist season are destroying the beach by putting water tanks as toilet waste collectors in the sand and not cleaning up. The waste is just kept there even after the shacks are removed. The waste collected is just left there polluting the beach and the area. Complaints have been made to the tourism authorities but nobody seems to be taking action.
Zac Almeida, Calangute
Neglected town
The Mapusa market has always been a mess, and no one seems to be doing anything about it. The road to the rear end of the market, if you’re coming from Guirim, or from any direction for that matter, is filled with potholes and more. It’s a headache to be honest. The local MLA is high up in the BJP government and has been elected for Mapusa for so many terms yet he forgets to repay the people with decent development. The town is now one of the worst in Goa due to the neglect of the government. When will Mapusa get it’s due?
Sanjay Naik, Mapusa
