Adopt Mumbai Model Of Waste Disposal

Posted on 2009-03-17
ALL tourists who come to Goa do not go away without visiting Calangute. Early morning tourists, however, are greeted with the ungainly sight of garbage on the streets. Stray dogs have a field day rummaging through the litter. To the credit of the local panchayat, it must be admitted that the collection vans go about their duty sincerely. It is the public who need to be more civic minded. In this context the panchayat may consider replicating the Mumbai model. In Mumbai most of the community garbage bins have been removed. The garbage van goes round on its designated route picking up garbage along the way. Residents are informed of the time everyone comes out and deposits their garbage in the vans. In larger housing societies and shops, a sweeper collects the garbage in a bin and leaves the bin near the road for disposal. This system has worked very well in Mumbai. In Calangute, shop owners may collectively employ a sweeper to collect the garbage and keep it ready for disposal at the appointed time. Likewise, individual householders may either employ a sweeper or dispose off the garbage themselves. Under no circumstances must garbage be strewn around.
R CASTELLINO, Calangute
Railways must Appoint Locals
I FULLY support the letter of Ms Flavia Pinto (NT, March 13) where she requests that the railway announcers in Goa must be local people. Whenever I visit Margao station, I find mostly North Indians at the reservation counter, many of whom don’t even know Konkani or even the English language and many Goans find it difficult to communicate with these people. There is a need for the Indian Railways to consider this suggestion that only the local people should be appointed in reservation and booking counters and also as announcers.
CAJETAN P D’SOUZA, Mumbai
Centralisation Of Goa University
THE article by Dr P R Dubashi, former Vice-Chancellor of Goa University (NT- Panorama, March 15), on the benefits that would be accrued if the Goa University were granted the central status was enlightening. In the past too we had the pleasure of reading some articles highlighting the merits of a central status, while others felt that centralising the university would be detrimental to the locals. There is no point in debating the subject any longer, as we all know of the benefits we would reap if the university were a central one. What is unsavoury to many is the ‘outsider’ element that comes with the proposal. With centralisation, staff recruitment as well as the student intake at the PG level would be based purely on all-India merit. And the locals fear that with this shift there will be an influx of outsiders, which is against their mindset. It is sad that Goa is the only state that does not have a central university!
MICHAEL VAZ, Merces
Goans Lack Traffic Sense
INCULCATING a traffic sense and educating the general public on the nuances of safety on the roads have been attempts in vain. With the people tending to be rasher in temperament, driving has ceased to be a pleasure. The reckless manoeuvres of youngsters on speeding bikes resemble a milieu of machines having gone berserk. The impunity with which traffic norms are violated makes one believe that laws are to be adhered to only in the presence of the enforcing officers. Umpteen cases of motorists making wrong entries in spite of notifications to the contrary are regular sights that greet a harried commuter. That uniformed personnel are required to harness this wild streak in us is indeed a matter of shame. NGOs and other organisations that are keen on making the roads a safe haven for motorists and pedestrians alike, have a tough job cut out for them. Slogans extolling the virtues of patience, sensibility and alertness on the roads are not simply phrases coined for amusement.
PACHU MENON, Margao