Goa News Clips
 

PICTURE FOR TODAY We normally see these cloud colours towards the sunset in the evening, but this beautiful scene was in the north. [Joel]

"GOA SHOULD BE FOR GOANS..." PANJIM: Expressing his strong reservations to the demand for special status for Goa, former Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party state president Dr Wilfred de Souza, on September 6, demanded that Goa should be for Goans and run by Goans. When contacted for his reaction to the demand for special status, a resolution passed by the Goa Assembly last week, Dr de Souza said that the Centre cannot create distinction between the states while granting special status. The Constitution of India clearly states that ours is a Federation of states. He argues that Goa cannot be compared with the North-Eastern states, which are presently enjoying special status since these North-Eastern states were situated on the border lines of China and Burma and facing the problems of insurgency. Secondly, Goa is much much ahead of these North-Eastern states. "I do not understand why we are demanding special status for Goa when we have been already granted Statehood in 19987. Goa has already got special status in tourism which no other state in the country probably has," Dr de Souza said. [WE-GT]

Roadmap to make Goa 'first world' State If within the next five years, Goa is to achieve the status of a 'first world' state, as desired by the government, an important step towards that goal will be to setup world-class institutions which will attract people from all over the world looking for specialised services, which should simultaneously be made accessible to all the people of Goa and raise their standard of life. Among the various sectors that can, within a reasonably short time, be raised to a world class level, are hospitality, health care and higher education. [Fr Romualdo de Souza, SJ, in GT]

Work on expansion of Dabolim airport to begin soon PANAJI, Sept 10: The Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat, has said that the work on expansion of the Dabolim international airport would start next month with the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Mr Praful Patel laying the foundation stone for the upgradation project. The Chief Minister also said that he would lead the all-party delegation from the state to New Delhi in the next week to demand special status for Goa to protect its unique identity, environment and ecology. [NT]

Goan sailor Anthony safe PANJIM: Anthony Clive Themudo, a Goan sailor from Navelim, who is on board "MV Iran", hijacked in the Red Sea on August 21, is safe, according to Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik. Naik said that Union Shipping Secretary APVN Sharma has informed him that persons on board ship including Anthony are safe and negotiations for their release in progress. [GT]

Goa police plans Europe model to curb mishaps MARGAO, Sept 10: The Goa police has decided to adopt models of a “demerit point system’’ as practised abroad to contain the alarming rate of road accidents and fatalities. A draft of the Goa Motor Vehicles (Demerit Point) Rules 2008 has been formulated. The police department said this proposal, which is highly effective in countries like Canada and several others in Europe, is under active consideration of the government. A non-resident Goan from Canada is said to have impressed upon senior officers the system followed abroad. [TOI]

UK panel wants Indian chefs, not IT workers LONDON: The 3.5 billion-pound Indian restaurant industry breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday as a key UK government panel said skilled chefs can be recruited from outside the European Union, but in bad news for Indian and other non-EU IT workers, the committee shut the doors on them. The Indian restaurant industry has been crippled by a severe shortage of chefs. Many restaurants have closed down as owners find it difficult to recruit from the Indian sub-continent due to recent changes in immigration laws. Mr Keith Best, head of the Immigration Advisory Service, has been in the forefront to ensure that laws are relaxed to recruit non-EU chefs. [PTI/NT]

A Boom from the Khozno! Whether it is at the beginning or at the end of a feast mass, the deafening khozne inform not only the entire village but also a few surrounding villages of the event taking place. Earlier, khozne were a means of communication where just one church served more than one village and its festive activities had to be announced to its parishioners. Though it is true that the tolling of the church bells also achieved the same result, the sound reached a smaller radius. So the good old khozno boomed and conveyed the festive message outside the hearing distance of the bell. [Pantaleao Fernandes, [GT]

Konkani literature forges ahead MARGAO: The resurgence in Konkani literature, despite its suppression in the past has been phenomenal. In recent years, Goa has witnessed a surge in literary and cultural activities, related to the Konkani language, with a Konkani book being published every three days. Shennoi Goembab’s efforts to revive the linguistic and literary aspects of Konkani, that had suffered under the Portuguese, have contributed significantly to Konkani and to Goans in particular, who were on the verge of losing their linguistic and cultural identity. [Rajeshree Nagarsekar, TOI]

Piano Concert Kerala-born W P Julian Clef did the honours of inaugurating the newly acquired Rs 78 lakh Steinway grand, with a piano concert at the Kala Academy, Panaji, on August 30. The majestic ‘black beauty’ responded admirably to the urgings of this accomplished pianist, with a tonal quality never before heard on this stage, and was greatly appreciated by the audience present. The hugely talented Clef, who has had the good fortune of playing on Chopin’s piano at Nahant, France, never wavered even for a moment, from the time he opened with Beethoven’s ‘Bagatelle in A, Op 33, No 2’. [Cyril D’Cunha, TOI]

Architectural delights Tucked away in a green valley at Torda (to the east of Porvorim) lies an unusual museum. The building shaped like a fish is a museum known as Houses of Goa. It is the brainchild of architect Gerard da Cunha. Why a museum on the houses of Goa? Its proud owner answers, “When I returned to my ancestral Goa after a long stint away I discovered its wonderful Indo-Portuguese architecture. I thought it was fascinating to document and bring out a book.” An exhibition of the documentation in Panaji evoked tremendous response. Gerald was invited to display it in Mumbai, Delhi, Lisbon and Porto. “Impressed by the people’s interest in their houses, I decided that at some point I would put this exhibition to rest in a permanent location. Thus the museum came about.” [PANTALEAO FERNANDES, Goa Times, TOI]

Goa's an 'old-age home' at current growth: Industry 30 Aug, 2008, 0339 hrs IST,Smitha Venkateswaran, ET Bureau http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3423979,prtpage-1.cms PANAJI: Goa may soon transform itself into an ‘old-age home’. Stagnant economy, zero growth in job opportunities and migrating youth can make this young-at-heart state the blissful abode only for pensioners. This is exactly what industry thinks. Already perturbed by a recent agitation against development and the subsequent “soft stance” of the government in acceding to demands, Goa’s businessmen have urged the state to take corrective steps immediately. The gravity of the situation was underscored in a memorandum presented to chief minister Digambar Kamat by a group of professional bodies, including the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), the Goa State Industries Association, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI), Indian Institute of Architects and Institution of Engineers, along with other entrepreneurs. The draft document has made a strong pitch for creating quality jobs in Goa. “Goan polity has to take a call and decide whether they will allow intelligent and skilled manpower to migrate or whether employment opportunities will be created for educated Goans in Goa,” it says. It points out that “as there are no jobs in Goa, most youth are moving outside the state or abroad to make a living. This is alarming since our state soon will have only retired people in the absence of any economic activity”, says VM Gaitonde, chairman, Institution of Engineers. Statistics reveal a clearer picture: Of some 3,000 engineering students graduating from Goa every year, over 90% migrate to other parts of India and abroad for jobs. Goa Economic Survey, too, points to an increasing migration of semi-skilled and high-skilled personnel, coupled with influx of unskilled and high-skilled job seekers in the state. “This indicates a mismatch between supply and demand in different fields,” says industry. While stressing the need for creating better infrastructure to attract companies, the memorandum also suggests setting up of special economic zones, IT parks and other non-polluting units to generate employment opportunities for locals. Some even advocate offering incentives to draw investment to the state. “When every other state offers some or the other concession, how can we expect companies to come here without having any inventive? Is this practically possible for a businessman?” asks Nitin Kunkolienkar, president, GCCI. The business community now wants the state to chalk out a roadmap that spells out, in clear terms, the future economic activity in Goa. They have called for an all-party meet to collectively decide on the kind of development to be allowed in Goa. “There is a need to build political consensus to avoid future conflict,” they suggest a way out.

Goa Plans Yearly Overseas Conference Of Expats August 30th, 2008 - 1:41 pm ICT by IANS - http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized   Panaji, Aug 30 (IANS) Goa Commissioner for NRI Affairs Eduardo Faleiro has announced plans to hold a yearly global convention of Goans in different countries that are home to significant Goan expat populations.This way, he said, it would allow the participation of those not able to come to Goa for expat meetings and also provide for greater involvement of expatriates. He made this statement after returning from Toronto, Canada, where a convention of Goans was held, following one in Lisbon, Portugal, the previous year. “On the sidelines of the convention, I discussed with the Goan organisations there modalities for redressal of grievances of non-resident Goans,” Faleiro said in a statement here. Goan organisations are to nominate one representative based in Goa for each country with substantial Goan populations, who would submit expat grievances to the local NRI office. “Our office will then forward the complaints to the concerned departments and expect redressal within a month,” Faleiro promised. “When this is not possible we will issue a status report every month to the concerned individual, indicating the progress in the settlement of his grievance until the matter is finally resolved,” he added. He spoke of plans to “unite” Goan organisations, both within Goa and overseas, under “one global network based in Goa”. Due to the peculiarities of Portuguese rule here - lots of education opportunities but few jobs - Goans have been migrating far and wide for many decades now. Faleiro, a former union minister in the 1980s and 1990s, said a global Goans office would be set up in Panaji by next December. Faleiro said he met the Canadian minister for small business and consumer affairs Harinder Takkar, of Indian origin. “Mr. Takkar felt that NRIs who have distinguished themselves particularly in the technological and economic fields should be co opted as members of boards and corporations in India so that their expertise would benefit the country and the different states of India,” Faleiro added. He said this suggestion deserved “sympathetic consideration” and would not burden the local exchequer as only those who come regularly to India on their own cost would be nominated. Goa has meanwhile signed a contract with the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) of Kerala for conducting a Goa Migration Monitoring Study. “The centre is the foremost agency in India on migration studies. The purpose of the study is to collect data on migration from Goa and analyse its impact on the social and economic situation of our state,” Faleiro said. It will report on the demography of Goa, migration in historical overview, internal migration, population characteristics, international migration estimates, causes and costs of migration, estimates of remittances and their utilisation. This study will also look at the impact of migration on education and health, consumption and investment behaviour in Goa, migration and women, migration and the elderly, and rehabilitation of returned expats. This study will focus on regions where Goans migrated - Mumbai and Karachi, East Africa, Portugal, Britain, Myanmar, Macau, Middle East, USA and Canada. This section is being prepared by the Xavier Centre of Historical Studies. Faleiro announced the CDS has selected 6,000 households across the state on random sampling basis for survey and interviewing. Some 4,000 households have already been surveyed, and 2,000 more will be completed this month. Preliminary and final reports are expected by October and November 2008.