Roadside garbage
The entire stretch of road from Sonarbhat Datta Temple in Saligao right up to the Saligao seminary, Pilerne industrial estate and garbage treatment plant is always full of garbage. Some irresponsible citizens get their personal garbage comprising plastic bags, bottles, cans, left-over rotten food etc. from home and casually dump it across this particular road on a daily basis, dirtying the entire stretch apart from polluting the air, which inconveniences the road users. When will people learn to protect the environment and stop dumping their personal garbage in other people’s neighbourhood, public places like fields, markets, near roadsides, and live like civilised citizens? There is a need for the authorities concerned, especially the Saligao and Pilerne village panchayats, to take a serious note of this menace. If possible, the panchayats could even install CCTV cameras to keep a check on the habitual offenders.
Jerry Fernandes, Saligao
Private universities
There is strong opposition from the locals to the proposed private university project scheduled to come up at Cansa Hill in Tivim on comunidade land, as the project raises serious environmental concerns. There is also a strong public concern over the rapid entry of private universities into a small state like Goa, which has traditionally relied on established higher educational institutions such as Goa University, specialised professional colleges and autonomous institutes such as the Goa Institute of Management. Land scarcity in Goa makes large campuses controversial, especially in ecologically sensitive areas. There is reportedly limited evidence that these universities will significantly reduce student migration to other states and abroad. Approved private universities risk duplicating programmes already available rather than filling genuine gaps. Private universities in India charge significantly higher fees than public universities. Critics contend that many of these private universities may primarily target students from outside the state who can afford higher fees. This shift risks marginalising students who cannot afford expensive programmes. The question that arises is how many Goan families can afford education for their wards in private universities? The first established private university in Goa began operations in Quepem after being approved under the Goa Private Universities Act, 2020. India’s higher education sector has seen explosive growth in private institutions, driven by demand. Goa’s experiment with private universities has just begun, and the debate reflects deep concerns about development and equity. Whether Goa needs more private universities is ultimately a policy question that hinges on how well these institutions improve access and their relevance for Goan youth. If properly regulated, private universities can supplement higher education, introduce innovation and boost employment-aligned education.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Humble leaders
People in public life must be moral exemplars of morality and ethics, as they pledge to uphold and defend that realm. They should always act with absolute humility. Elected leaders should never lose sight that they are servants of the people, elected and paid by the people, whom they should be accountable to while respectfully and truthfully serving them. Those elected should strictly live up to the wishes and aspirations of the people while being guided to deliver what the people want. Our leaders ought to be ever so humble and never arrogant. For society to progress and prosper, we need to have individuals in public life with competence, honesty, dedication, humility, experience and selfless determination above all. French Nobel Prize winning author and philosopher Albert Camus had rightly said, “A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world.”
Aires Rodrigues, London
Organ donation
In a positive development, the Centre has said that there has been a four-fold increase in organ transplantation in the last 12 years. Furthermore, nearly 20% of organ transplantation is carried out through the organs donated by the deceased. There are several misconceptions surrounding organ donations that require to be allayed by doctors and activists. That approximately 5 lakh donors have registered to donate organs and tissues after death through Aadhaar verification since September 2023 can only mean that a new awareness has dawned on the common man. There are plenty of multi-organ donors as well. However, India’s organ donation rate remains low, at 0.3 to 0.8 per million population. According to World Health Organisation (WHO), only 0.01% of people donate organs after death in India. That said, India is now the leader in hand transplants and the country’s doctors are becoming increasingly adept in performing complex heart, lung and pancreas transplants. Effective coordination and collaboration between stakeholders have resulted in these developments.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
