Venzy Viegas – stop legalizing illegalities. – By Nisser Dias

I am not advocating frequent changes in laws. But laws must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. With the change of circumstances, laws must also keep pace with the times. But that does not mean, laws be made within laws to suit a particular sector.

That is what the Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas seems to be doing with an ulterior motive to win the next elections with a vote bank which had evaded him during the last hustings.

Just like he wanted legislation legalizing ‘Dhirio’ (bull fights) even when the highest court in India had banned it as cruelty to animals much before he was elected as a legislator. Venzy is no different from his predecessors. Power corrupts and it has corrupted Viegas even more. If not Venzy must say I have dedicated 5 years of my life to public service and let others take on the mantle, this is my challenge.

He seems to be advocating that the government of Goa formulate a law for public transportation, interestingly though he wants the ‘tourist taxi operators” out of it. Such nonsense is not only difficult to decipher but also to digest as it comes out of ignorance and arrogance. Early in the month of September Benaulim MLA was part of the meeting of tourist taxi operators and government-supported APP-based Goa Miles called by the Colva police. The police agenda was simple, with the tourism season fast approaching, both parties were warned to conduct their business properly and not to take the law into their own hands.

However, Benaulim MLA Viegas known for his aggressive posturing seems to have developed an amnesical mind for his convenience.

First and foremost, he has to understand and realize that tourist taxi operators have to operate their taxis from home. They have sworn an ‘affidavit’ to that effect with the Rural Transport Office. Basically, it states that they undertake to operate their vehicles on a call basis and that their vehicles would be stationed/parked at their residences and not in front of the hotels or resorts as they do now. If this affidavit is enforced by the police, majority of issues like the fleecing of tourists, and strong-arming of other stakeholders in the hospitality industry including hoteliers will end.

Successive governments for some reason do not want the police to enforce it, giving an opportunity to the likes of Venzy and before him his predecessors to dangle a carrot before the tourist taxi operators for the sake of votes. If the government of the day enforces the affidavit, most of the ills practiced by tourist taxi operators can be stopped. The government would be free to introduce APP-based taxis and overall bring about a massive change in the public transport system in Goa.

Simply because successive governments showed leniency towards the tourist taxi operators for decades now, are have been flexing their muscles. In fact tourist taxi operators are largely part of bringing a bad name to Goa on the tourism map. Tourist taxi operators are like a plague that have been gnawing at the tourism industry since inception.

Initially, the taxi operators took objections against the tour operators who brought in tourists to the state. The former refused to allow the latter to take their own guests on tours in buses, though it was a part of the guest's paid itinerary. Taxi operators took the law into their own hands, blocked the buses, and even assaulted their drivers. At the same time, the taxi operators protested against the hoteliers for hiring out their vehicles to the tourists. Family members were not allowed to pick-up their relatives from the hotels. All this while refusing to adhere to government proposal of regularizing the fares.

Where in the law says, that tourist taxi operators have a full monopoly in this sector?

But politicians like Venzy Viegas and his predecessors (ex MLAs) play the nasty game of the tourist taxi operators for want of votes, thereby allowing the illegal demands of operators to continue, to somehow win the next elections. Benaulim MLA has sold his soul. He made a statement during the meeting that tourist taxi operators in a large-hearted manner gave up ferrying locals so as to accommodate APP-based taxis services.

Interestingly former MLA Churchill Alemao had said, that locals cannot afford tourist taxi operators fares as they are meant for tourists. So who is lying? In the recent past Venzy Viegas hailed a taxi operator charging Rs. 4000 from Mopa airport to Benaulim a distance of 65kms. Does it not expose Viegas' double standards? Please stop supporting illegal causes to come back to power.

If not for tourist taxi operators, Goa like other states would have a robust, easy and affordable public transport system. Politicians like Venzy and his predecessors are responsible for denying Goans such a system for selfish reasons of getting elected again.

Luizinho Faleiro, Churchill Alemao and Joaquim Alemao have tried their best to back tourist taxi operators and lost elections. Venzy Viegas is not doing anything different because he wants to remain in power just like his predecessors.

Enforce the affidavit, show the tourist taxi operators their place and see the change.

DIG Jaspal Singh, don’t push your failures onto the public. – By Nisser Dias

Another deal, another compromise, a charade, for a government who don’t give a shit about a war that should be fighting, to go on pretending they are winning it, but it cannot be won and it will never be won. At least not until police see it for what it is. None till they know what is the truth.

Yes, I am talking about the war on drugs trade in Goa. The government appears to be in denial, and the opposition, regrettably, speaks with forked tongues, often depending on which side of the political fence they stand. Meanwhile, the police, instead of addressing the issue head-on, often resort to pointing fingers at the public. This, despite their own awareness that some among their ranks are not only involved in the drug trade but also facilitate and protect it.

Director General of Police Jaspal Singh's recent statement, "locals, outsiders, and foreigners are in the drug trade," is hardly news to anyone in Goa. It's an open secret. However, the question that hangs in the air like a heavy cloud is, what is the police department doing to combat this issue? How has such a thriving drug trade flourished right under their noses? How many within their own ranks are complicit? Why have significant quantities of drugs and narcotic substances mysteriously vanished from police custody? Why have drug kingpins in Goa named police personnel in their nefarious activities? And how do narcotics find their way into the hands of undertrials in our jails?

These are just a few of the many questions that demand answers regarding the functioning of the police department. Director General Jaspal Singh must acknowledge that his department has been infiltrated by corrupt police personnel and politicians, a toxic blend that has eroded its credibility.

Pointing fingers at the local population, outsiders, and foreigners only serves to make a laughing-stock of the police force. Even counterparts in Hyderabad recognize

that the Goa police department, far from combating the drug trade, often functions as a protector for drug kingpins, peddlers, and their couriers. This is evident in the numerous drug raids conducted by Hyderabad police on Goan soil, leading to the apprehension of traffickers who operated with apparent impunity.

It is disheartening that the police's response to bail applications for individuals arrested for drug possession often hinges on the need to extract the names of their suppliers. The courts, however, frequently grant bail, raising the pertinent question of what the police have been doing during the 10-14 days these accused individuals were in their custody.

Jaspal Singh, undoubtedly an intelligent and upright police officer, has a track record of using his investigative skills to solve complex cases. However, as the head of the police department, his loose and at times, irresponsible statements expose the frustrations of working under the current administration. It's almost as if he's conveying to the public that he is merely a figurehead within the department, with his powers overshadowed by the Home minister, who ironically also serves as the non-Goan Chief Minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant.

Nevertheless, drugs and narcotic substances will continue to be available as long as there is a demand. This is where the police come in – to gather intelligence, strategize, and dismantle drug networks and routes, all while creating a network of informants. Furthermore, thorough investigations should lead to airtight cases, ensuring that those apprehended with drugs face substantial convictions and lengthy sentences.

However, this ideal scenario is not playing out on the ground. Police personnel, particularly those assigned to the Narcotic Cell, are under immense pressure to meet yearly targets. These targets include the number of raids conducted, the number of arrests made, and the number of NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) cases registered. In pursuit of these numbers, some officers resort to harassment and threats against drug peddlers and suspects, damaging their potential to become valuable informants over time.

In conclusion, Director General of Police Jaspal Singh must address the failures within his department without deflecting blame onto the public. It is essential to remember that the very public he points fingers at is the one that funds his salary and, more importantly, places its trust in the police to uphold the law and protect the community. Accountability and a renewed commitment to combating the drug trade are urgently needed to restore public faith in the police force and bring justice to a state battling a serious drug epidemic.