Firecracker ban impractical
Days ahead of Diwali, the Supreme Court on Friday reportedly said that a complete ban on bursting of fire crackers in Delhi is neither practical nor ideal. According to the data of Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) pollution levels have remained almost the same since 2018 when the blanket ban on fire crackers was put in place in Delhi. Incidentally vehicles are a more dangerous and consistent source of air pollution than firecrackers. While firecrackers release toxic chemicals and heavy metals that are highly hazardous, the continuous emissions from vehicles are a larger, ongoing contributor to harmful pollutants like carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide. Vehicles release harmful gases and particles that cause smog and health problems like asthma and heart disease. Vehicles contribute to pollution year-round, creating a consistent source of air contaminants. It is a fact that the concentrated nature of firecracker pollution during a short period can cause immediate, acute health problems for those with respiratory or heart conditions. However, while the pollution from firecrackers is intense, it is limited to a short period, such as during festivals. Though the pollution from firecrackers is dangerous and can cause immediate health issues, the continuous and widespread emissions from vehicles are a more significant and persistent source of air pollution, making them a greater overall danger to public health. The rapid increase in the number of vehicles also leads to more fuel consumption and higher emissions. It is learnt that in many urban areas, road transport contributes significantly to air pollution, sometimes exceeding 30% of total emissions.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Goan migration
A small state like Goa with a population of about 15 lakhs became dependent on its citizens having to obtain Portuguese passports in order to avail of maximum number of jobs abroad especially in the United Kingdom before Brexit as well as in France, and now in Ireland. Consider that every 1 in 22 persons in Goa has a government jobs. Then it works out to about 70,000 persons having government jobs. If it is assumed that 2.4 lakh Goans are now employed abroad by availing Portuguese passports and this figure in the last 24 years appears to be a credible one, then it works out to one in every seven Goans now employed in foreign shores as a consequence of availing Portuguese passports. Can it be believed that the avenue of obtaining Portuguese nationality has resulted in three times more Goans employed abroad compared to those availing of government jobs? By providing three generations of Goans to apply for entitlements leading to Portuguese nationality the government of Portugal has come to the help of about one in every 7 Goans who are now employed in foreign countries. What would have been the scenario if this entitlement was not available? Today, coincidentally is the feast of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal which attracts over one lakh devotees including a few Goans who embark on this solemn pilgrimage.
Elvidio Miranda, Panaji
Skill mismanagement Â
Should we be surprised that a sweeper of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) at Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Shatabdi Hospital in Chembur, allegedly operated an ECG machine? The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission levied Rs 12 lakh penalty on the BMC for this brazen act. The BMC informed the Commission that since the post of a technician was vacant since a year, hence they had assigned the task to a “trained employee” to operate the ECG. Looks like the BMC took the govt’s policy of “skilling, re-skilling and upskilling” seriously and upgraded a housekeeping staff perhaps at the same salary, to a technician. Hope, the ECG charts were not interpreted by another “trained” housekeeping staff. There were similar news in the past, when employees have carried out tasks that were not meant for them, whether in educational institutions, govt offices, departments, hospitals. Incidentally, highly qualified persons apply when jobs are advertised for govt drivers, peons and so forth. The govt needs to seriously introspect the employment scenario in India. Instead of recruiting eligible permanent staff, people are employed on contract basis whose tenure is for a few months to several years. Obviously, they have less or no accountability nor responsibility of their work and tend to leave for greener pastures. This leads to people who are unfit or ineligible to undertake works for which they are not qualified and the results are sometimes drastic and dangerous. While those who are eligible do not get the job they deserve.
Sridhar D Iyer, Caranzalem
