Carnival celebrations will commence in the state today with the float parade to be held in the capital city. This year, while the festivities will be observed throughout the state, the float parade will be held only in four cities namely Panaji, Vasco, Margao and Mapusa due to the pandemic. The parade will be much welcomed by the citizens after all the problems they had to undergo during the past two years of the pandemic. It must however be said that the carnival parade should propagate and exercise the zero-waste mission. It is observed that after the float parade is over, the streets are littered with all types of waste including plastic bottles and cups, discarded carnival decorations, torn papers, discarded street hangings and the like. This presents an ugly sight to the city. Dust bins need to be placed at regular intervals along the float parade so that people can deposit the waste there. It is also observed that barricades are placed along the route of the parade so that the crowd watching the parade do not spill onto the route. These barricades create a lot of inconvenience to the citizens living in houses along the parade route. They can neither take their vehicles out of the garage nor keep them inside. These barricades could be allowed during the parade. However it is observed that the barricades are not removed till the next day. The concerned authorities need to see to it that the streets are cleaned and barricades removed immediately after the parade is over.
ADELMO FERNANDES, Vasco
