Goa News Clips
 

The Heat is On The constant showers have ceased. The weather’s hotter and drier. And in the villages, harvest-time smoke from burnt paddy stalks, pollinating trees and insects galore, are regular features. Inevitably, as the season changes, a slew of illnesses lurk around the corner. “As the weather changes from moist to dry, there are increased cases of flu,” said Dr Rajendra Tamba, an epidemiologist at the Directorate of Health Services. Pointing to the cutting of crop, he adds that people may also develop allergies such as asthma or skin reactions. Cases of insect bites are also around. “But all these illnesses happen every season and it’s not an epidemic,” stressed Tamba. [Preetu Nair, TOI]

Harvest feast at Poiguinim and Loliem Poiguinim and Loliem in Canacona, both agriculturally rich villages, traditionally make the first offering of their paddy yield to the village deity in gratitude. Ramakant Chintamani Tengse, a priest at the Navdurga temple, Poiguinim says, “In Galgibag there is an agricultural field locally known as Devache Shet which is traditionally cultivated by members of the community related to the temple. On the third bright day of the Ashwin month, members of the community gather at the paddy field and offer an elaborate pooja.” [Rajendra P Kerkar, TOI]

Destination Goa Despite the fears of a gloomy tourist season, fuelled by flailing foreign economies and security concerns in India, 700 charters are expected to land through the October-February period. Leading on the runway is United Kingdom, which has 320 charters slotted. Russia follows with 240 flights. Sweden has listed 70 flights. While Germany has 53 flights scheduled. The industry is also “counting” on the “loyalty factor” and is expecting 40% repeat clientele. [Andrew Pereira, TOI]

Romi is an internet friendly script, says Menino The Director of Official language Department Menino Peres, who inaugurated the Dalgado Konknni Akademi's workshop for writers at the Black Box of Kala Academy in Panjim on October, said, "Writers should make use of Orthographies published by the Goa Konkani Akademi and the TSKK in order to bring uniformity of spelling and grammar in their writing," he said. "Roman script is universally used and has acceptability in south Indian states where Devanagri script is not used for local languages. It is also an internet friendly script." Resource person Dr Pratap Naik SJ explained some of the salient features of correct Konkani writing in the Roman script. [GT]

GOA GOVT MAY STILL HAVE A BIG SAY ON GU'S FUTURE It is not over yet for Goa to retain its university and the ball is now in the state government's court. According to Rajya Sabha MP, Shantaram Naik, who is also a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for HRD, the Goa government can reject the Centre's 'Central University' move. "The State government has still not decided on the nature of Central University that may be established in Goa as per the policy announced by the Centre," Naik told GT. [WE-GT]

Church bells remind Amar of Orissa Christians' cries Rajya Sabha MP and Samajwadi Party's high profile leader Amar Singh claimed that the distant church bells he heard while he was lounging on a beach in Goa reminded him of the cries of tortured Christians in Orissa. The Samajwadi Party leader, who was addressing the media on October 7 at Inter Continental Resort in Canacona, demanded that the Central government ban the Bajrang Dal by the same logic, they banned

Bihar thanks Goa for flood relief, says BJP A press release issued by the state BJP secretary Sadanand Shet Tanavade states that the president of Bihar unit of the BJP, Radha Mohan Singh, accepted the relief material and thanked Goa unit of the BJP for the same. [GT]

In awe of flying mammals That the Indian Flying foxes, locally known as 'Pakkhe" in Konkani, are consumed by humans is a fact and I know of medicinal oils and extracts being derived from these creatures in the hinterlands of Goa by village medicine men, a practice which has now ceased to exist, thanks to availability of medical help in every nook of the state. And while conflicts with humans of these Flying mammals include raids on orchards and farms... Being known to travel up to 30 kilometres away from their roost site in search of ripe fruit and flowers, these bats play a vital role in seed dispersal as well as pollination and are thus an important component of any ecosystem. There is a need to conserve their kind and other bat species. [Nirmal Kulkarni, GT]

Indian-origin appointed as UK minister LONDON: Two days after creating ripples by inducting Blairites into his cabinet, the British Prime Minister, Mr Gordon Brown, on Sunday appointed a loyalist and an Indian-origin ex-banker Ms Shriti Vadera as minister. A staunch Brownite and an ex-UBS banker, Baroness Ms Vadera will be designated as Minister for Economic Competitiveness and Small Business, a spokeswoman of 10, Downing Street said. [Agencies/NT]

Where spices come from. A tour of a spice plantation in Goa by Jamie Rhein Sep 29th 2008 @ 12:00PM http://www.goa-holidays-and-hotels.com/goa-spice-farm-plantations.html http://www.gadling.com/2008/09/29/where-spices-come-from-a-tour If you're in a region of the world where spices are grown, take in a tour of a spice plantation. On last Tuesday's episode of Bizarre Foods, Andrew Zimmern went to a one in Goa. Here is a video of a tour of a spice plantation in Goa (there are several) that points out the highlights of the various spices and how they are grown. The text captions tell what you're seeing. Along with the close-up shots, are views of the entire plants. In the mix, there is a demonstration of how to climb a tree, and the food shots will make you hungry. Here is a link Goa's spice plantations. Make sure that food is part of the bargain. You are guaranteed shopping time. Goa Spice Plantations Farm & Village Goa's dense forested areas and favourable climatic conditions make it a perfect location to grow the spices liberally used in its cuisine. Spice farms dot the state, and a cluster around Ponda is open to visitors for a day of gastronomic discovery. A bonus is the birds that are attracted by the greenery. Practically all the spice farms use organic methods of cultivation. You can get a guided tour of the plantation and enjoy a mouth-watering Goan Saraswat buffet lunch at some farms.