GOANET MEMBERSHIP RULES
http://www.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet/2003-September/004861.html

YELLOW MENACE GRIPS GOA'S CAPITAL
Goa's capital city, Panjim. was gripped by the fear of jaundice with as many as 300 people affected by the yellow menace by end-August, with 32-year-old Rajendra Kudnekar of Saligao being the first victim to die of Hepatitis E in the last week. The inflow of filthy water from outside the kitchen of a Panjim hotel in the main pipeline has been pinpointed as the source of the problem. Large quantities of water, which is said to have stagnated in the underground chambers and cavities outside the hotel premises, found its way into the main pipeline. Though late the government swung into action and sealed, hotels and restaurants violating health, food and drugs norms, sealing a number of hotels, restaurants, fast-food kiosks in the main cities of Goa, after finding them violating all norms of hygiene. The government has also earmarked an amount of Rs.100 crore to improve the health care system in Goa by the year 2007.

FINE MONSOON THIS YEAR
The monsoon season has entered the 'nervous nineties'. For the first time in a couple of years, the total rainfall is likely to cross the century mark. While the State has already received 97 inches, the meteorologists are confident that the rain will duly complete its century during the next few days. The last gush was witnessed in 2000 when around 125 inches of rain was receiving during the normal season.

GOA HEADED FOR 'MEDICAL TOURISM'
Goa has already established itself as a popular tourism destination. Could it be the next destination for 'medical tourism'? Dr Pratap Reddy, chairman of the Apollo Group of hospitals, opined that this could be a possibility, particularly in light of the establishment of the super-speciality Apollo Victor hospital at Margao. He, however, emphasized that the Rs.27 crore, 150-bed hospital would cater primarily to Goan patients. "There is a potential to earn about $300 billion through medical tourism, he disclosed to the media on September 3.

ST FRANCIS RELICS EXPOSITION
The 16th solemn exposition of the sacred relics of St Francis Xavier will be held from November 21, 2004, and end on January 2, 2005, at Old Goa. A decree announcing the holding of the solemn exposition has been issued by the Archbishop of Goa and Daman, Mgr Raul Gonsalves. The first solemn exposition was held from February 10 to 12, 1782.

GOA'S BPO PROSPECTS
Shyamanuja Das, senior assistant editor with the Voice & Data magazine, said that the total worth of the BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) industry was about $1.8 billion, of which India has a lion's share of $1.3 billion. The factors in India's favour include a vast pool of cheap skilled labour and technological know-how. At the moment Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore are riding the BPO wave, there is no reason why Goa cannot do the same, Das reasoned. However, it was unanimously agreed that Goa had a long way to go, particularly in the area of infrastructure.

DIVAR BONDERAM
Pomp and gaiety marked the celebration of Divar Bonderam, organised by Piedade Youth Association in Divar on August 23. In the inter-group float contest organised on the occasion, Vittozem bagged the first prize, while Primeiro and Romantic bagged the second and third prizes respectively. In all, six groups participated in the pageantry, but the sixth group did not take part in the contest. Earlier, at the crack of dawn on Saturday, members of Piedade Youth Association went around the village playing the traditional 'Alvorad' to herald the ushering of the annual Bonderam. According to an estimate, over 10,000 people including villagers witnesses the colourful festival.

INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL VENUES
The twin sites of Campal in Panaji and the Fort Aguada have been selected by the Key Advisory Group (KAG) of International Film Festival of India to stage the next festival by December 2004. The site at Kala Academy, including the panoramic "Darya Sangam" and the adjacent football ground will comprise the venue for IFFI in the capital city. At Aguada there are plans to set up a state-of-the-art convention centre with at least eight to ten theatres, a multiplex with a grand studio, a seminar room, a venue for film bazaar, and a modern auditorium with a seating capacity of 1,500 to 2,000 seats.

FEAR OF BOMB BLASTS IN GOA
Police in the State have been put on high alert in view of the two bomb blasts in Mumbai. Wireless messages flashed to all police stations have specified that all madrasas, hotels, lodges be checked. All vehicles entering the State be also thoroughly checked and occupants be questioned. Police have been asked to keep a sharp lookout for suspicious looking persons specially along the coastal belt.

GOAN NRIS WANT INSURANCE PACKAGE
Goan NRIs have urged the State government to consider an insurance package on the lines of one provided by the Kerala government. They also suggested that the mediclaim scheme be extended to them. The FRI Facilitation Cell held an interaction with the members of the Kuwait Based Goan Welfare Society in view of the convention of Non-Resident Indians and Non-Resident Goans scheduled in January next year.

SHENOI GOEMBAB'S WORK IS PRAISEWORTHY
The celebrated journalist and chairman of Prasar Bharati, Mr M V Kamath, said that the work undertaken by Shenoi Goembab for giving Konkani language a place of pride among the national languages and making Goans aware of their culture and identity is unparallel. Mr Kamath, who earlier released two books, "Shenoi Goembab: The man and his work" by Dr Kiran Budkuley and "The triumph of Konkani" by Mr S M Borges, observed that there is a pressing need to teach Konkani language to the new generation, including its phonetic and grammatical aspects. "However, one should finalised the syllabus before teaching the same to the young students, as various forms of Konkani language are used in various states, including Goa, Karnataka and Kerala", he pointed out speaking in fluent Konkani prevalent in Canara district.

POPULAR FOR PAEDOPHILES TOO
Tourism-related paedophilia is moving out of Thailand and looking for more vulnerable targets on the beaches of Goa and Kerala, a confidential report commissioned by the British government says. It also said the children in these destinations were particularly vulnerable, because they were often the victims of the connivance of their own parents. (Devika Sequeira in Herald)

ROLAND MARTINS WINS 'GOENCHEM PRIZE'
Roland Martins, a social activist has been awarded the Goenchem Prize 2003 for the 'promotion of honesty, rationality and common sense'. In keeping with the spirit of the World Goa Day, the committee members of Goenchem Prize choose Martins for the award. The committee stated that Matins, a founder member of Jagrut Goenkaranchi Fouz is 'a remarkable citizen, whose main occupation and preoccupation has been and continues to be social activism'. In the eighties he fought against the reckless promotion of modern tourism industry in Goa.