RTI - Right to Ignore

Mountain of a Mole Hill!

Remember the hill that came crashing down at Porvorim, and caused an upheaval in your travel routine. Then there was this other one, opposite the Ribandar ferry to Divar. This one went unnoticed, the PWD got into the act rather quickly, and now it looks like a resident there has turned the open space nature created, into a private car park. In Goa landslides can be advantageous too. Like, the misfortune to you at Porvorim, turned out to be a fortune for many up in the hill opposite and down in the divide. Who cleaned up the mess, that is. As of October 17, 2008 (apparently there is more to this) Sneha Engineering of Duler in Mapusa was paid Rs 87,06,578 to remove the soil and debris that came down. In keeping with the Goa government's understanding of a natural law (justice delayed, is not justice denied) to mean instead 'justice denied, is justice delayed' none of the culprits involved have been brought to book till date.

The other beneficiary of this land slid is NB Dhargalkar of Muquem in Cuncolim who bid Rs 1,23,49,112 to build protection measures on the road side embankment including construction of a retaining wall exactly 600 metres in length. To be precise, from the Km. 1/200 point to the Km. 1/800 point. I have no idea how much it cost the Chinese to restore selective touristy portions of the Great Wall. Even if I did, would it matter? Would it matter for that matter if you and I objected if the guys in the opposite of the hill, now decided to smother the 'restored' hill side with ornamental plants imported from Bali? Would it?

Back to Books

Trying to unlock the mysteries of the Central Library, I was offered this spiel by the Directorate of Art & Culture. I report verbatim: "Construction work of the new building was initiated by the Directorate of Education and the initial plans were submitted by the Central Library in consultation with library professionals to the Directorate of Education. Further, GSIDC had also consulted eminent library professionals in this regard." I thought I was better than the enemy at this RTI stuff after all these years. I am humbled. I never thought of asking this bleeding question: 'Please give the names of all the well-known, renowned, distinguished and famous librarians you consulted?' Then of course, their reply would have been: 'We did not consult any librarians, we only consulted library professionals.' RTI, as you can see also means Right to Ignore.

I asked what books will be kept at the Central Library, the answer: encyclopedias, handbooks, conference proceedings, yearbooks, manuals, law books, general reading books like novels, dramas, poetries, memoirs, humour, letters, biographies, basic books on engineering, science, architecture, social studies, psychology, religion, economics, political science, education, public administration, commerce, customs and tradition, management, house building, sculptures, music, sports, philosophy, history and geography along with maps, charts, CDs and DVDs. Phew!


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