Neighbourhood minimarts

Michael Chambers, Lautoka

Can all minimarts operating in and around our neighbourhoods have cash registers, just like supermarkets in the main city?

Maybe it should be included as a pre-requisite requirement before having to renew their annual business licence.

This for transparency cases, where we customers could also view the prices of the items being punched in by the cashier. At the moment, most additions are done by a calculator only visible to the shopkeepers themselves. Most of them take advantage of our vulnerable children when we send them to buy items increasing the prices by 10c or 50 cents.

I am sure the Prices and Incomes Board inspectors only have certain items that are regulated for them to check. What about the rest of the items?On one end, parents teach our children simple mathematics so they get to know the change they should receive, and on the other end the change doesn’t balance. Who do we blame?

With a cash register, you get your receipt and that’s evident enough of the items purchased. This reminds me to ask as to how do these neighbourhood supermarkets justify their sales in their tax books?

Who knows, this could be the very ones evading the thousands of dollars worth of taxes owed to Government. It’s a clear indication of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.

Land pollution?

Neelz Singh,  Lami

When we talk about air or water pollution the reactions garnered are stronger. This is because we can see the effects caused by the pollutants and their extent very clearly. Our land on the other hand is living a nightmare too. We may not be able to see the effects with clarity, but land is being polluted and abused constantly and we are unable to calculate the damages incurred.

Such activities are conducted citing development, and the same affects the land drastically, we witness land pollution; by drastic we are referring to any activity that lessens the quality and/or productivity of the land as an ideal place for agriculture, forestation, construction etc. The degradation of land that could be used constructively in other words is land pollution.

The increasing numbers of barren land plots and the decreasing numbers of forest cover is at an alarming ratio. Moreover, the extension of cities and towns because of increasing population is leading to further exploitation of the land. Landfills and reclamations are being planned and executed to meet the increased demand of lands. This leads to further deterioration of land, and pollution caused by the land fill contents.

We need to make people aware about the concept of Reduce, Recycle and Reuse. Reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural activities. Avoid buying packages items as they will lead to garbage and end up in landfill site. Ensure that you do not litter on the ground and do proper disposal of garbage. Do organic gardening and eat organic food that will be grown without the use of pesticides.

Create dumping ground away from residential areas.

Several creatures survive under the land too. Disrupting the harmony of the land is disrupting their habitat. We walk and survive on land. It is literally the base of our ecosystem. It is in our good interest to take care of it and nurture it.

Feedback:  jyotip@fijisun.com.fj