Evescape

By Rajeshree Nagarsekar Time to act responsibly... Even as concerned citizens of the State were bracing for more restrictions, the announcement of Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant, of opening grocery, milk and vegetable shops in Goa from Friday, with a further warning that nobody should blame the government if COVID19 spreads among the population -- has rattled many, with even leading medical practitioners taking to social media, urging the CM to rollback the order. Photos and videos of the scene on the ground on Friday, emerging on social media, show a clear contradiction of social distancing guidelines issued by the central government for the entire country in the 21 day lockdown announced by Prime Minister Modi a couple of days ago. Considered to be the most severe step taken anywhere in the war against the Corona Virus, PM Modi announced that no one could leave home for 21 days, thus ordering 1.3 billion people of the country to stay inside their homes for three weeks. He fur...

Over 100 women from various fields ---journalists, writers, authors, teachers, lecturers, doctors, lawyers, engineers, home-makers,  researchers, farmers, social activists, policy experts, entrepreneurs, etc; penned a letter to the Chief Minisiter of Goa to express their anguish over the brutal rape and attempt to murder of a minor girl in the state, and called upon him to take action towards curbing such offences in the future.      Open letter to the Chief Minister Respected Dr. Pramod Sawant , We feel heavy hearted as we write to you today -- for having failed as a society to save our daughter from the dastardly sexual violence committed on her by a fellow Goan. The brutal rape and attempt to murder of our 13-year-old daughter has jolted our collective conscience. We fail to understand the mindset and the environment that creates individuals who become impulse governed monsters -- like the 23-year-old accused in this case. The unspeaka...

Loving the Unconfined Canine EVESCAPE NEWS FEATURES/GOA Cruelty against animals, though widely prevalent, is a neglected issue in Goa -- thanks to the insensitivity of the government towards animals. Cruelty to animals is an offence – under Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, and Section 429 of the Indian Penal Code – punishable with imprisonment and fine. There are also increasing incidents of intimidation faced by those who choose to take care of unconfined animals, even as such action is considered an offence under the Indian Penal Code (specifically, Section 503 of Indian Penal Code read with Section 506 of the Indian Penal Code 1860). Thousands of stray dogs live on the streets of Goa. Street canine population is closely associated with municipal sanitation practices or neglect -- these unconfined dogs often survive by scavenging rubbish. Although they are widely feared for carrying rabies, most street dogs are not aggressive and will only bite ...

The Politics of Wholesale Defection  The recent political development in Goa wherein two thirds of the Congress Legislative Party merged with the ruling BJP to manipulate numbers, by abusing the lacunae in the Anti-defection Law, has led to the debate on re-visiting the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. -------------------------------------------------- The unbridled somersaults by elected peoples' representatives in Goa perturbs every concerned citizen in the state. It is in the event of the recent political development though -- wherein the lacuna in the Anti-defection Law was absolutely abused and manipulated -- that stakeholders have once again started to express their concern about the ineffectiveness of the law. Frequent defections made a mockery of the party system and made the electoral system vulnerable to frequent and unnecessary elections which inevitably cost a significant amount to the exchequer, thus necessitating the framing of an adequate anti-d...

Wasted Efforts on Waste Management  Insufficient infrastructure, weak planning and information systems, and an altogether unorganized and flawed waste management system has become a burgeoning problem for the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) to ensure effective and sustainable management of waste, especially in the event of the tension prevailing at the Sonsoddo landfill. Pushed to the wall by Fomento Green -- the concessionaire of the solid waste management plant, the MMC has once again raised its pitch on segregation at source, putting the onus on the citizens, before making any changes at the institutional level, even as experts opine that segregation at source cannot be achieved without a working waste management policy in place, and unless authorities engage with citizens seeking community participation . Pressing the need for an organised campaign with the active involvement of ward councillors and civic body officials, Clinton Vaz , an expert in waste managemen...

Media Insititutions Should Be  Gender Sensitive The widely publicised photograph of the newly elected committee of the Goa Union of Journalists (GUJ), after elections to the body held last week -- sparked a debate; rather outrage, at least in one group comprising of influential women in Goa. There was not a single woman in the frame; therefore the outrage. To my mind the picture was appalling, and criminal as well -- the union, as projected in the photograph resembled a Boy's Club. GUJ acclaims itself to be the only voice for journalists and journalism in Goa. That it represents a broad range of media professionals, including women. In the spirit of a union, it also claims to serve as a platform to encourage its working women and freelance journalist members to speak up against injustice and call for action on gender equality and equity in media.  Even a rank outsider would consider the union, as a media institution, to actively campaign for changes, especially...

"A Science teacher needs to work hard" - Rajashree B Karapurkar So how can you take the stress you thought was killing you and make it constructive? Ask Rajashree Bandodkar Karapurkar -- recipient of the Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2019, constituted by Sahitya Akademi , India's national academy of letters. "In the year 2012, my book Taaryachya Vanat Swapnanchi Sahal  was released. Post this, I underwent a lot of stress at my workplace. To keep away from stressful thoughts, I got back to my writing and this book was born," she recalls.  "The book was published in the year 2015 after a gap of three years," she recalls while explaining the journey of the award winning Konkani book, Chitkulya Chinkichye Vishaal Vishwa -- a colourful illustrative book written for children.  Rajashree narrates the contents of her book -- "Little Chinki , a baby ant is curious about the secrets of the environment. During her journey of life, her prote...