Goa News Clips
 

Goa Governor, CM and Archbishop extend New Year greetings Governor Dr SS Sidhu and Chief Minister Digambar Kamat have extended heartiest greetings and best wishes to the people of Goa on the joyous occasion of the New Year. In his new Year message, the Archbishop of Goa and Daman, Filipe Neri Ferrao, said, "Expectations and concerns mark the beginning of every new Year. And this year will not be different. Our concerns, in fact, will be all the more grave since the year that went by was punctuated by violence, which took so much toll on human life and left the entire population traumatized. [GT]

NRGs demand control over influx of migrants On the eve of the New Year, Non-Resident Goans from United Arab Emirates presented a wish list to Chief Minister Digambar Kamat in the form of a memorandum signed by over 600 Goans living in Dubai and Kuwait. The memorandum comprises of 10 demands aimed at protecting Goa and Goan identity and makes a very forceful demand for controlling the influx of migrants in the State which is diluting the Goan identity. (Among other issues) the Non-Resident Goans have also demanded that the State government strongly pursue with the Centre for voting rights to Non-Resident Goans. [GT]

Air fares to Goa plummet this new year Flying in to Goa from Mumbai on New Year's eve was cheaper for revellers than entering a night club in the state to party into the New Year. With hordes of Indian tourists descending on the state to ring in the year's first moments, nightclubs anticipated a windfall in earning and hiked their rates ten-fold. [TOI]

One month course in Konkani for government servants All government employees will have to compulsorily undergo classes in Konkani so as to equip themselves with minimum knowledge of the language. Training for the purpose wills tart soon and in Devanagari script… Konkani stalwart, Mr Tomazinho Cardozo stressed: “Whatever the government does should be beneficial to all sections. So training should be both in Devanagari as well as Romi scripts.” [NT]

Goa may miss revenue target by Rs.250 cr Goa is staring at a revenue deficit of at least Rs.250 crore this financial year. “There is already a shortfall of around Rs.150 crore in the last three months even as we were assuming it as a boom year,” Vallabh Kamat, commissioner, commercial taxes, told TOI. [Raju Nayak, TOI]

Netter Domnic’s new house Popular netter Domnic Fernandes (Aichea Disak Chintop) weaved in more fun, festivity and happiness this festive season with the inauguration of his new house on December 29 evening at the hands of Fr Agapito D'Cunha, the parish priest of St Michael Church, Anjuna, in the presence of relatives, neighbours and a few close friends. The lovely house in red, chiselled laterite walls at Gaumvaddi’ sharp turn in coastal Anjuna, adds Anjuna’s present-day glamorous landmarks. We greet Domnic, Jyothi and their children on the happy occasion. May God Bless their new home abundantly. Incidentally, the new home comes almost on the heels of Domnic starting a lovely Mongines outlet near Starco in Anjuna. If the progidious writer is not much on the net nowadays, it’s becuase the busy venture keeps him engaged throughout the day. [DailyGoaNewsClips]

Digitised “Faxi Mogachi” C Alvares, the late thespian and innovative tiatr director, who shone brightly in the early Konkani movies “Amchem Noxib” and “Nirmon”, went on to produce “Faxi Mogachi”, and released it on a very small scale. His daughter Capucina produced his play “Atancheo Sunom” and her own first film “Disson Kurddo Aikon Bhero”, followed by “Ghutt” with which her father was toying before he passed away. Capucina, to perpetuate C Alvares’ rich legacy under the banner of C. Alvares Films, partnered by Ashterwayne Productions, eventually produced the digitized version of “Faxi Mogachi”, which was released recently. [I. Dantas]

'Charge non-Goan patients for hospital services’ Demands to levy fees on patients from across the border availing medical facilities in the state and offer high remuneration for medical consultant in government hospitals has gained support from Goa Assembly Speaker, Pratapsing Rane, and PWD Minister Churchill Alemao. [H]

Convert Hospicio into museum Goa Legislative Assembly Speaker Pratapsing Rane has called upon the government to convert the Hospicio hospital into a museum after the commissioning of the 556-bedded district hospital. Saying that the Hospicio building is a heritage structure and needs to be protected for posterity, Rane suggested that the imposing structure be converted into a museum. [H]

Goa Waits For Tourists Ketki Angre Saturday, December 27, 2008 http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/  Goa is waiting for tourists though, December is usually the peak tourist season for the coastal state. But this year after the terror strike in Mumbai and rising tension between India and Pakistan it is the tourism industry which has been affected. Says Nisha Tupkar, a shopkeeper: "This year there are definitely fewer tourists. There were many cancellations but I think now gradually things are improving." Her concern is clearly reflected by the tourist figures this year. Last year, there were a total of 710 chartered flights packed with foreign tourists that came to Goa between October and May. This year, till date, only 194 chartered flights have arrived. On an average, hotels have seen a drop of upto 40 per cent in bookings. A total of 2.5 lakh foreigners came to Goa last year. A group that is visibly absent this year. There were over 24 lakh domestic travellers last year. This year, it's expected to fall by at least 4 lakh this year. Vice chairman of Goa Tourism Development Corporation says: "Tourists had panicked and cancelled their Goa plan. But after the Goa government took up some measures for safety, bookings have resumed again. So, we are hoping the season will pick in January." The only silver lining is that hotel bookings have shown some signs of a revival in the last few days. The tourism industry had not had much to cheer about this festive season, but it is hoping that the new year will bring the smile back.

Goa’s Iron Ore Exports May Fall As China Demand Seen As Temporary 30 Dec 2008, Smitha Venkateswaran, ET Bureau http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3911041,prtpage-1.cms PANAJI: Iron ore exports may be on the rise - thanks to a spurt in demand from China - but the slump is far from over, fear Goa’s iron ore exporters. The country’s exports to China in November rose to 8.74 million tonne (MT) as compared with 4.13 MT in October after the central government announced a slew of measures, which included a reduction in the export duty to 0% on iron ore while duty on lumps was cut by 10 percentage points to 5%. However, according to industrialists, this boom is likely to fade soon. Many Chinese companies are busy working on their year-end balance sheets. Unlike most countries, Chinese businesses follow the calendar year and, hence, the urgency to correct accounts. “Demand has considerably picked up but I fear it’s a temporary phase, only to correct their company accounts. I think the situation will get very bad after January,” said Shrinivas Dempo, chairman, Dempo Group, one of the largest ore exporters. In Goa, which accounts for nearly 40% of the country’s total exports, most companies are yet to resume production in spite of the growth in Chinese demand. The idea for now is to ‘do away’ with inventory and not produce more ore, say industrialists. The state is facing its worst slide ever since the mining activity was introduced in Goa under the Portuguese regime. Iron ore exports, which stood at 30.05 MT in 2006-07 and 33.13 MT in 2007-08, plummeted to 9.5 MT in the first six months of the current fiscal. Demand picked up towards November end and early December and the state exported nearly 17 MT to China during the period. “After the export duty was cut, we did see an increase in demand. We are now able to compete on spot prices with Australia,” S Sridhar, executive director of the Goa Mineral Ore Exporter’s Association (GMOEA), said. Ore prices earlier in the year witnessed a steep fall from an average of $130 a tonne to $40 a tonne. Currently, the rates are in the range of $55 to $70 a tonne. According to GMOEA, nearly 40 steel units in China have shutdown. Besides, many other units are purchasing high-grade ore as against Goa’s low-grade variety to cut energy costs. Demand from Japan is also likely to drop in the next few months. The Far East country accounts for approximately nine million tonne of the state’s exports. A decline in mining activity, which is often referred to as the back-bone of the Goan economy, is expected to affect employment levels in the state. According to a recent government survey, Goa’s 103 working mines provide direct and indirect livelihood to nearly one lakh people.

Goa - '1 In 100 Women Attempt Suicide' 31 Dec 2008, Preetu Nair, TNN http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3915608,prtpage-1.cms PANAJI: A study has found that nearly one in every 100 women, aged between 18 and 50 years, attempted suicide in the last 12 months in Goa. The frequency of suicide attempts is higher in young adults aged between 16 and 24 years. The study on suicidal behaviour in the state was conducted by Sangath, an NGO working in health care. It was recently published in leading international medical journals. "There are more suicide deaths every year in Goa than due to injuries or health-related problems," said Dr Vikram Patel, Professor of International Mental Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who led the Goan study. The study found that almost one in 150 young people in Goa attempted suicide during a three month period. If these rates were applied to the state's population, this would mean that between 1500 and 4000 women aged between 18 and 50 years will attempt suicide over a year's period, while about 1000 to 2600 young adults will attempt it during any given three month period. The findings also confirmed those of the National Crime Records Bureau's latest figures of suicides in the country that reveal that Goa has a reported suicide rate of 16.9, much above the national average of 10.8. Official figures available with the Goa police too show that in 2007 about 250 people committed suicide, but the number of people attempting suicide in the state is much higher, said police sources. "Suicide is the leading cause of unnatural death in the country. In fact, the true suicide rate is likely to be much higher than reported. Community studies of the cause of death show that actual suicide rates may be five to 10 times higher than reported by the police," said Patel. The study revealed that gender disadvantages experienced by women and interpersonal violence are the major social determinants that drive young people and women to commit suicide in Goa. Apart from these social factors, depressive disorders and chronic physical health conditions or disabilities increase the risk of suicidal behaviour, the study noted. Divided into two segments, the Stree Arogya Shodh study was a longitudinal study of 2494 women aged 18 to 50 years, randomly selected from the catchment area of Aldona primary health centre, while the Yuva Mitr study was a cross-sectional survey of 3664 young adults aged between 16 and 24 years in rural and urban communities in south Goa. The two studies researched the health of populations who are disadvantaged or who are the focus of national health programs and they addressed a wide range of suicidal behaviours from thinking about ending one's life to attempting suicide, besides examining roles of indicators of socio-economic disadvantage such as poverty, minority or migrant status, gender violence, mental illness and physical ill-health. "Our study points to specific actions that should be taken to reduce suicides," Patel said. Stating that the best way to prevent suicides would be by effective implementation of policies and programs to counter interpersonal violence and provide debt relief to the marginalized and vulnerable groups, the study added, "Individual level interventions for reducing interpersonal violence and treating depression, especially in high-risk groups such as married women and young adults, delivered through health programs targeting young people and women is essential; in addition, services for depression management and crisis intervention should be made available in all primary health centres and other community based agencies in the state."