With regard to the “Kiosks outside GMC complex razed” in your esteemed daily on July 2, 2021. These so-called illegal/ unauthorised stalls, huge buildings, slums, whether in Goa or other cities like Mumbai, is nothing new. Whenever the authorities feel like demolishing such structures they will issue notices. The affected people would approach the authorities, some will go to the courts. They will use all sorts of delaying tactics and the authorities are okay with it. This whole issue of the so-called illegal/ unauthorised structures need to be reviewed in the right perspective. The prime question is, what were the authorities doing while these illegal or unauthorised stalls, structural, etc, were coming up in the first place? Secondly, where they sleeping while the extensions to these structures were being carried out? These are obvious questions and so are the answers. And so, the authorities have woken up and demolished structures outside the Goa Medical College in the wee hours of July 2 morning. And by the way, what is this rehabilitation that we are talking about? Are they entitled to rehabilitation? They should not have been there in the first place. In the past, we have seen a number of mishaps like fire in hospitals, or buildings collapsing etc, in Mumbai and elsewhere. And a subsequent probe reveals that these structures were illegal. The picture is clear. The authorities do not act until it suits them. It’s like letting a wound fester until it becomes septic and the end result is disaster. This is what we are witnessing today.
