To Goanet - I distinctly remember the old hospital in Panjim soon after Goa's Liberation and in the few years thereafter. I don't mean to say it was the acme of perfection, but it was a respectable place. To think of what has become of it today! The sty we have in Bambolim, that some of you refer to as a hospital. This is decay, right from the third-worldish physical construction, to its (non)maintenance and neglect. If there is one common thread running through the complex, it is rust, dust and the smell of urine. That's Indianisation for you.
One round of the hospital in Bambolim and you find it hard to tell it apart from a ghati slum. That is because it IS a ghati slum today. The migrants are getting one hell of a free ride paid for by us Goans. Note: no humane society should deny medical care to those in need of it. I am talking about the rampant abuse of the system. How did we get mired in this soup in the first place and why in the world do we stand for it? During the tourist season, visitors of all kinds pile on at the hospital because they have figured it is cheaper to spend the night there than at a hotel in Goa! The slaps and chappals should be aimed not at the junior docs but at the Health Minister and his underlings, including the Dean (is there no qualified Goan to head the College that we must time and again import third-rate outsiders?). ***** Utt Goenkara deserves a warm round of applause for leading the fight against corruption and helping evict an IAS officer. I believe that EVERY single IAS officer, active or not, living in Goa must be fully investigated. These are the scum of the earth, exploiters of public resources to feather their own nests. Not too long ago I had the opportunity to sit next to this odious Bengali during a meeting called as a result of the PIL on Panjim. It is only my refined Goan genes that reined in my instinct to piss on him. ***** I note that the usual passel of commentators have begun commentating on the imminent struggle to achieve special status for Goa. The same old cast not a single member of which has spent ONE honest hour working to save Goa from the vultures currently circling overhead. Warm regards, r