Terror! For now, fear not: Kamat
PANJIM: Chief Minister Digambar Kamat yesterday tried to convey 'all is well' message even as he played down the terror threat supposedly hovering over the state.
Answering a host of question posed by media persons at his official residence, Kamat said he was awaiting details from SP Neeraj Thakur in this matter. The state, he said, has taken all precautions in this connection.
Asked whether hotels are meticulously following the guidelines over registration of guests in accordance with the instructions and regulations issued to reduce the terror threat, Kamat replied, "Whoever does not follow the regulations,t he District Magistrate has enough power to terminate their licence." [GT]

Jose Feliciano Was Here Last Night!
PANJIM: The singer with the fruity voice and acoustic guitar was here last night. And he rocked. Jose Feliciano first hit the English music scene in the US with his rendition of the Doors' "Light my fire" And when he played it at the Kala Academy last night, it had the same dist8inct freshness about it. It is difficult to imagine the Latino star without his trademark acoustic guitar. When he belted out Eric Clapton's "Lay downSally" the sound was electric and the crowd mesmerised. Rock and roll came as easily to the nimble-fingered guitar player. [Derek Almeida, GT]

Book Release
PANJIM, Feb 12: "Passionate and Unrestrained," a book containing articles written by one of Goa's foremost freedom fighters Jose Inacio Candido de Loyola, translated of Alexandre Moniz Barbosa, was released at Fundacao Oriente, Fontainhas, this evening. Barbosa, who is also the Asst Editor of English monthly "Goa Today" is seen addressing the audience

Rave parties, loud music rock Anjuna once again
PANJIM: The ghost of rave parties and loud music has come to haunt the coastal belt of Anjuna-Vagator and Morjim with three cases booked against noise pollution in both these areas. [GT]

St Thomas HSS educating heart, mind and disciplining bodies
ALDONA: St Thomas Higher Secondary School set up on the hillock of Santerxette, Aldona, very elegantly radiates its personality all over the village and neighbouring areas. Today 15 years gone, the light has not burnt itself out. St Thomas HSSC stands at par with the leading High Secondary Schools of Goa. The success story has been made possible by the efficient Missionaries of St Francis de Sales management, dedicated staff and very important the confidence and support of villagers. [GT]

Global seminar on tourism at International Centre
PANJIM, Feb 9: The School of Business Studies and Management of St Xavier's College, Mapusa, in association with the Directorate of Tourism, Travel and Tourism Association and International Centre, will organise a two-day international seminar on the theme, "Natural Area Tourism: Impacts, Planning and Management" on February 14 and 15 at the international Centre, Dona Paula. The seminar will be inaugurated by Tourism Minister Mickky pacheco, principal of St Xavier's College Newman Fernandes told presspersons. [H]

Agriculture's green beret
Neatly structured furrows are beginning to sprout green, some canopied under mulching plastic covers, while black rubber pipes, fitted with sprinklers run the length and breadth of this 1.2 hectare farm known as Reira Eco Farms along the Saligao-Mapusa road. Still in its nascent stage, the farm is a hotbed of a working paradox, reflective of its conceptualiser and entrepreneur, Darryl Pereira. Reira Eco Farms is a practical example that gives hope to reviving agriculture in Goa. While Darryl combines tired-and-tested farming methods growing sweet corn, onions, garlic, turnips, brinjals, chillies, lady fingers and sunflowers, he pursues experimentation with exotic vegetables like red and white beans which he attests to having a "75 per cent success rate". In his presentation to the Task Force for RP2011, Darryl made his point proving that his farming methods are reaping a rich crop. [Cordelia B Francis, GT]

Goan Youth Prefer To Work Abroad
by Erwin Fonseca
http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=020712

The recent controversy regarding special economic zones may have died out for the time being with the government deciding to denotify all the proposed special economic zones. The opposition to SEZs was on the grounds that this would give an unprecedented rise in migrant population in Goa. The reasons for opposing SEZs may be genuine, the larger question that still remains: do Goan youth have enough employment opportunities in the state?

Goa being a tourist destination, there has been a tendency among Goan youth to opt for tourism related jobs like working in hotels here or abroad, setting up hotels or going on cruise liners. Goan youth also look at this tourism related jobs as ones that can fetch them good money in a relatively shorter duration.

Mr Andrew D’Souza, a graduate looking out for a stable job does not see any thing wrong in this. “Goa offers limited employment opportunities to the educated youth.. Politicians speak about jobs for sons of the soil but the ground reality is different. If our youth are trained then definitely they should be absorbed,” he said. However he also felt that money is another aspect that forces many youth to go abroad

“For a large section of our youth even jobs in industries will not satisfy them as they feel they need to earn more to secure their future and this is what makes them go abroad, work in IT centres or work on cruise liners,” he added.

The principal of Institute of Hotel Management and Catering College, Porvorim, Mr Roque D’Cruz agreed with the fact that the inclination among students to opt for a future in catering technology and hotel management had increased. “Every year about 400 students pass out from our institute. There are a variety of courses offered in catering technology and hotel management and jobs are assured. It is this sense of security of getting jobs that makes many youth opt for this profession. Over the years we have even increased our intake capacity and the seats are always full. After successful completion they venture out in the hotel industry, retail business, BPO’s and cruise liners. While in college itself they are assured jobs.”

However not all Goan youth going on ships and joining hotel industry complete their hotel management studies. Many get trained for some time by working in hotels and then join the cruise liners.

A senior citizen, Mr Joseph Fernandes said, “Youth of today want to earn more too fast. It is true that we need to have employment opportunities for our youth. Industries should not be opposed for name sake, but all the same given the right employment opportunities will our youth avail of them?”

“They will still want to go abroad and excel and considering the fact that cruise liners offer fat salaries, our youth today are tempted to join ships,” he said further.

Many college students said that they were definitely not averse to going abroad on getting good job offers on completion of their studies.

On the one hand while many of our youth look at careers abroad or on ships more lucrative many migrants feel that coming to Goa is more lucrative. If one takes a look at the construction sites coming up all around one finds that all such sites employ migrants as their ‘workforce’. Gone are the days when our own Gawdas and Kunbis would do such jobs.

Many contractors pointed out that construction sites involve a large ‘workforce’ and as this workforce was not available in Goa they had to look at other states and bring labour from there, although even migrants are now hiking their rates considering their importance. Another reason pointed out was that Goan workers, particularly the few masons left, have been opting out from working at construction sites.

Though we may be opposed migrants from entering Goa, the ground reality is that while our youth seek careers abroad migrants look at construction sites and other works as their gateway of entering Goa.

'Private Schools Can Never Fulfill Demand For Quality Education'
NT Staff Reporter
http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=02087

Panaji, Feb 7 Renowned trade union leader and mathematical physicist, Dr Vivek Monteiro today said that the private schools can never fulfill the demand for quality education and equality as could be achieved through the government schools, especially following the fundamental duties enshrined in the Constitution including developing the scientific temper, humanism and spirit of inquiry and reform.Dr Monteiro, a Goan, who is also devoted to universalising elementary science and mathematical education, further said that today a number of schools and madarsas are run by religious trusts which disseminate communal teachings, further questioning whether science can be systematically and scientifically used to undermine this influence.

Delivering the concluding lecture at the DD Kosambi birth centenary lecture series - ‘Festival of Ideas’, on the topic ‘Science is the cognition of necessity’, Dr Monteiro said that comforts in learning mathematics open doors to modern science.

Nearly 836 million people that is more than three-fourth of Indian population is denied of basic needs and live on less than Rs 20 income per day, he informed, maintaining that these people are linked to unorganised sector as well as contract workers in the organised sector. “The unorganised sector is a highly undernourished and under-educated sector,” he added.

Coming to the topic of the lecture, Dr Monteiro said that DD Kosambi is a profound influence on the young students, in India who proceeds towards left. “As per the observation of the celebrated American physicist, Richard Feynman, science is a long history of learning how not to fool yourself,” the speaker quoted, adding “While DD Kosambi felt that science is the cognition of necessity.” “Unfortunately, though science has given us many conveniences, the scientific thinking is not one of them,” he lamented.

Dr Monteiro maintained that DD Kosambi never compromised with convenience and Kosambi’s becoming Marxist was the direct consequence of his scientific convenience, with no hesitation in acknowledging that he was a Marxist. In fact, in his essay titled ‘Science and Freedom’, Kosambi felt that there is an intimate connection between science and freedom where individual scientific freedom is a small corollary, the speaker stated.

Observing that science demands from us a comprehensive view, Dr Monteiro said that science is not only about accounts and auditing, but also about accountability. Earlier, the director of Science, Technology and Environment, Mr Michael D’Souza welcomed the gathering. The chairperson of the DD Kosambi birth centenary celebration committee, Dr Maria Aurora Couto and the director of art and culture, Mr Prasad Lolyekar were also present on the occasion.

D.D. Kosambi Festival Of Ideas

Struggle for peace must be a quest for equality: Vice-President Mohammed Hamid Ansari
A global society based on justice has no place for war

Excerpt from:http://www.thehindu.com/2008/02/06/stories/2008020659291300.htm 

D.D. Kosambi was an active fighter for peace: Ansari
"Kosambi a renaissance man"

PANAJI: Asserting that the struggle for world peace must be a quest for equality, justice and democracy, Vice-President Mohammed Hamid Ansari has said the modalities of furthering it will inevitably be conditioned by public awareness and public action. He was delivering the first lecture at the four-day "D.D. Kosambi festival of ideas" organised by the Goa government here on Monday. Earlier, Mr. Ansari inaugurated the lecture series in the presence of Governor S.C. Jamir, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, sociologist and D.D. Kosambi's daughter Meera Kosambi.

In his lecture, Mr. Ansari paid rich tributes to D.D. Kosambi's "encyclopaedic personality, which endeared him to scholars beyond the fields of mathematics and numismatics." He sought to explore the passion for peace and its relevance to the world in present times as a tribute to Kosambi's vision of peace for development.

Mr. Ansari said Kosambi was an active fighter for peace and, in the times of the Cold War, spent time analysing the causes that prevented peace. "Peace must be demonstrated to be good in value terms as also in practical terms since war can demonstrate to be genuinely a half truth," said Mr. Ansari. In Kosambi's vision, "peace was the pre-requisite for development and that true peace requires true democracy where all human beings are equal."

Political will
Dwelling on the dangers of war and nuclear proliferation, he said a global society based on justice had no place for war. Referring to ongoing worldwide initiatives for controlling the nuclear arms race, he said a world without nuclear weapons required the political will to build the required international consensus or guarantees, a task not easily accomplished.

Ms. Meera Kosambi, delivering a talk on 'D.D. Kosambi, the Scholar and the Man,' said her father was not an ivory tower scholar and his works were of practical utility and social relevance.
Describing D.D. Kosambi as a renaissance man, Ms. Kosambi said his intellectual canvas was vast.

Kamat's assurance
Mr. Kamat announced his desire to make D.D. Kosambi's life and accomplishments part of school curriculum in Goa. He cited the government's plan to renovate and look after the dilapidated "Samadhi" of the illustrious Goan at Vardha.

The Colonisation Of Goa
Daily News & Analysis
Wendell is holding forth on the Delhi invasionof Goa.
"I welcome them if they buy old houses and restore them with their money," he says. ...
http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=T&ct=us/6-0&fd=R&url

Excerpt…
It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon in Ucassaim. We are sitting in the garden with our friends, Wendell and Jerome. It is surprisingly cool and a gentle breeze is swaying the coconut palms; another bucolic day in our charming little village.

Wendell is holding forth on the Delhi invasion of Goa. “I welcome them if they buy old houses and restore them with their money,” he says. “But I draw the line when they make marble and granite palaces in the garish style of Greater Kailash (a South Delhi suburb known for its kitschy homes).” More and more people in this idyllic state are beginning to feel like Wendell.

The nearby village of Assagao, for example, has been virtually annexed by Delhi’s high fliers, who have renovated old homes into luxury dwellings. At the other end of the spectrum, blocks of Mumbai-style apartments have sprouted.

The colonisation of Goa is underway. What is emerging has little to with the place itself and its unique culture. In the upper reaches, it is beginning to resemble the Bahamas, while the apartments and resorts for the middle classes are sleazy Thailand-style developments.

The colonisation of Goa is a problem, because it ignores the local traditions and culture. So the apartment dwellers live their Mumbai lives and the wealthy in Assegao and Dona Paula import their own little designer existence. Which is worse?

India Inc Turns Its Back On Goa, Blames Instability
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-2777731,prtpage-1.cms
13 Feb, 2008, 0014 hrs IST,Smitha Venkateswaran, TNN

PANAJI: Goa’s contribution towards central excise revenue is on a downward slope. The state will collect Rs 20 crore less this year, thanks to a flight of capital. The excise duty is charged on finished goods. Any fall therein indicates a slowdown in industrial output. Last year, central excise revenue collection from this coastal state dropped by more than 12% to Rs 725 crore against over Rs 820 crore collected in 2005-06. The numbers are expected to fall further this year.

“This has been the trend for the past few years. It indicates that companies are not interested to come here. I don’t see any initiative being taken either by the state or industries to improve the situation,” Rakesh Sharma, chief commissioner of Customs and Central Excise, Pune, says, with a rather rare candidness.

While the reason for this fall in revenue is attributed to the central ministry’s decision to allow companies to file a single return from the company’s headquarter instead of from separate branches located across the country, the fact remains that there have been no new industries setting shop in Goa. “There are no new companies coming up, this is unlike other smaller cities like in Coimbatore, where almost every day we receive enquires from companies interested in developing a unit there,” says a senior official of Customs and Central Excise based here.

Strategically located and with an airport, a major harbour and good road, rail links, along with inherent advantages of an urban set-up, harmonious culture and largely English-speaking people, Goa is considered attractive for long-term presence of companies. But industrialists point out that lack of proper infrastructure and political instability have been a major deterrent for companies to start production here.

High incidence of breast cancer in Goa worries medicos

Panaji (PTI): Medicos in Goa have expressed the need to commission a study on high incidence of breast cancer in the state and work out a strategy to curb the disease.

"Inspite of available data and information, no definite attempts are made to find out the root cause and take preventive steps," Dr Shekhar Salkar, General Secretary Indian Medical Association (Goa) told PTI.

The coastal state, known for high literacy and per capita income has literally turned into the capital for breast cancer in the country, recording highest number of cases.

"Goa has an average of 1000 cancer patients every year, and 70 cases per lakh population, which is much higher than the national average of 50 cases per lakh," official records said. Meanwhile, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has said it is high time for the state government to commission a statewide pilot study to evaluate and ascertain the reasons behind this high incidence.

"The study has to be conducted in respect with urbanisation, demographic segregation, religion, food habits, marital status and others," Salkar said. "We have been holding awareness camps in large numbers which has benefited the public at large and have been successful in bringing patients to the doctors in early stages," he added.

The IMA feels that at this stage mere realisation and acknowledgement of the disease is of very little consequence. "We cannot leave breast cancer unattended, as has been the case with the rampant renal diseases in Canacona taluka," Salkar said.