News Clips from Goa
 

Indian envoys deny job losses in Gulf PANJIM: The Indian ambassadors to Oman and Qatar have refuted claims that the Indian workers are losing their jobs in the Gulf due to global financial recession. "It is true that due to global recession some projects have been differed but it has not affected the economy there at all, Indian ambassador to Qatar Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa said." The number of Indian workers in Gulf has increased, in fact it is up by 30,000 this year," "Indians are always welcome in the Gulf due to our friendly behavior, hard work and honesty," Wadhwa said adding "even though our people are double the local people we are still welcome." "I do not see any job problem as reported in the media", he said. [H]

Lashker-e-Taiba plans to attack Goa! Alert issued Goa along with Gujrat and Maharashtra has been issued alert by the Center following intelligence tip-off suggesting that Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba Lashker's sea wing was planning to carry out a major suicide attack on iconic and prominent installations located along the Indian seacoast, official sources have said. Meanwhile SP (intelligence) Atmaram Deshpande confirmed the news however, denied any alert on infiltration, some five days back by the central agencies. We have pressed our agencies into service and a general vigil is thoroughly maintained at every location", he told GT. [GT]

Entire administration should run in Konkani The entire administration should run in the language of the common man, of Goa which is 'Konkani' and not any foreign language including English said N Shivdas, President of Goa Konkani Academy while paying tribute to Shenoi Goembab on his 132nd birth anniversary at Goa Konkani premises. He further lamented that even after passing of official language act, Konkani has no place in the administration. Poet Ramesh Veluskar who graced the function spoke about contribution of Shenoi Goembab for Konkani language during his life time. Veluskar expressed deep anguish on non implementation of Official Language Act sincerely. He cautioned Goan identity will vanish and Konkani language will be replaced. [H]

Goa enacts law to kick out ragging Students indulging in ragging will not go scot-free, from now on, as Goa Governor Dr S S Siddhu has given his accent to Goa Prohibition of Ragging Bill 2008 and the same has been notified as an Act. Dr Siddhu made an announcement to this effect at the Silver Jubilee celebration of Goa University held at the Kala Academy, on Tuesday. Dr Siddhu said with the enactment of the law, the managements of educational institutions have al primary responsibility to implement the Act, effectively. [H]

Tribal Welfare Dept soon: CM Government will soon establish a Tribal Welfare Department and Scheduled Tribe Commission for the upliftment of scheduled Tribe Community, in Goa, announced Chief Minister Digambar Kamat after inaugurating the first ST Vikas Parishad organized by United Tribal’s Associations (UTM) in association with Department of Information and Publicity at Farmagudi Ponda on Monday. Ramesh Tavadkar, MIA and Convenor, UTM was present on the occasion. [H]

Some people fall back upon wild vegetables As prices of locally grown vegetables and vegetables brought from outside the state are high some rural folks from Pernem taluka eat wild vegetables, which flourish during the monsoons. Yes, the local vegetables are little bit costly. Right now, two small bunches of Tamdi Bhaji are priced at Rs 10. [Bhiva P Parab - NT]

Locals turn away from growing vegetables Some eight years back hardly anyone sold vegetables in stalls and kiosks in the coastal village of Salcete taluka and people used to buy vegetables in Margao markets or from the poor womenfolk who came in the villages hawking vegetables. However, today one finds greengrocers at Majorda, Betalbatim, Colva, Benaulim, Varca and other areas along the coastal belt of Salcete. Most of these greengrocers are migrants as locals are turning away from farming, especially cash crops. The rising prosperity and spread of education are attributes to this lack of interest among Goans in farming activities. Locals who once cultivated the land and raised several cash crops said that they gave up raising crops due to high cost of labour. [NT]

Thrash the trash: Team - CCP to meet CM Sometime next week yet another CCP delegation will be headed for a meet with Chief Minister Digambar kamat . The garbage issue came to the fore at yesterday's meet of the majority to participate in the delegation led by CCP Mayor Caroline Po. As temporary solution, the cooperators also mulled over signing a lease agreement with the owner of the land behind the Heera Petrol pump for garbage composting/segregation. Among other issues resolved at the meeting was the disbursement of CCP employees' salaries for the month of June in accordance with the recommendation of the Sixth Pay Commission. The CCP budget is likely to be presented within two weeks. [GT]

The Complete Guide To: Goa June 27, 2009 | By Hannah Russell and Simon Calder Excerpt… This diminutive Indian state packs in miles of relaxed beaches, a rich Portuguese heritage and coconut-laced cuisine. Where – and why? India's smallest state – slightly bigger than Devon – is tucked into the south-west coast of the sub-continent. It makes up for its diminutive size through the diversity of its 1.4 million-strong population and the wealth of experiences on offer in the region.  Although small, the state is among India's richest, largely thanks to tourism. The big attraction is more than 80 miles of coastline, and India's most sophisticated mass-market tourist industry: Indian culture is given a Goan twist, and strange foreign practices are tolerated more readily in Goa than in the rest of India. But if you delve deeper you will find plenty of culture and history, and some seductively accessible nature. Click to Read Article

Fishmongers Cash In On Demand, Despite Ban http://oheraldo.in/printerfriendlypage.asp?nid=23546&cid=2 MARGAO, JUNE 23: Worried of a fish shortage in markets this monsoon?. No, you should not. In fact, Goans can look forward for a rich variety of fish notwithstanding the ban on fishing activity. Visit Goa’s only wholesale fish market located at the entrance to the commercial capital and one finds the market bustling with normal activity. A fleet of outstation trucks transports tons of fish to the Goan market in the wee hours every day. Some of the vehicles originate from as far as Chennai and Hyderabad and reach the Margao wholesale fish market before dawn. Though mackerels and sardines are imported in tons every day, the skyrocketing prices have kept many a fish-eating Goan away from the fish markets. The steep price of fish is attributed to the transportation costs involved in importing the fish from across the State. Take note, mackerels and sardines available in the market come from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, while the fresh water fish comes from Karwar and parts of Karnataka. Says a leading wholesale fish merchant, M M Ibrahim: “The mackerels and sardines are being imported from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. The prices have increased this season because of the moderate fish catch in these States”. Ibrahim says rough weather conditions in the Bay of Bengal may worsen the arrival of fish in the next two days. “We have received messages from our TN counterparts that the weather conditions are not conducive for fishing. Things will be normal after some days”, he added. Ibrahim admitted that the import of fish this season is less compared to the previous years, attributing it to the poor catch along the country’s east coast. Heavy demand for fish in the State has prompted the fish merchants to bring the choicest variety of the fish in the markets. The State even imports fish from distant Howrah and Gujarat to meet the every growing demands of the population. Incidentally, though the fishing ban is uniform along the western coast, eyebrows are raised how trucks carrying tons of sardines come to Goa

Malnourished Girls In North Goa To Get Free Rice http://www.navhindtimes.com/story.php?story=200906267 FROM NT NETWORK | Posted on 2009-06-26 PANAJI: The department of woman and child development, under the nutrition programme of the central government, has started distribution of 6 kg rice, free of cost, on monthly basis, to the malnourished girls from North Goa, in the 11 to 19 age group. In all, 9,800 such girls would be provided with rice so as to improve their health. As per the central government parameters, girls between 11 and 15 years of age are considered normal if they weigh 35 kg or more. The nutrition programme will be applicable to all the needy girls, irrespective of annual income of their families. The director of women and child development, Mr Sanjiv Gadkar, speaking to The Navhind Times said that the central government, after a study reached the conclusion that families in Northern part of the country have wheat as their staple food, while those in the South, opt for rice. We will be extending this programme to South Goa, after observing response to it in North Goa, he said, adding that around 1,212 anganwadis existing around the state, will be involved in distribution of rice to the malnourished girls. Most of the girls, who will be benefiting under this programme, are school dropouts or those who never went to school, as the girls studying in the schools are provided with adequate diet, by way of Mid-day Meal Scheme. The department of women and child development will also introduce the Kishori Shakti Yojana, another scheme for girls in the same age group, who are school dropouts from rural areas, so as to empower them, thus enabling to take charge of their lives. The broad objectives of the scheme are to improve the nutritional, health and development status of adolescent girls, promote awareness of health, hygiene, nutrition and family care, link them to opportunities for learning life skills, and help them gain a better understanding of their social environment and take initiatives to become productive members of the society. Mr Gadkar said that such girls would be trained to be good housewives, good mothers and good citizens of future India, with the officers of the department, medical officers from government health centres and officers of the Nutrition Board participating in the training programme. The funds released by the Ministry of Women and Child Development under the Integrated Child Development Programme to the department were Rs 1.1 lakh during the year 2005-2006, while Rs 11.0 lakh during the subsequent year.

70% Subsidy For Paddy Transplanters http://www.navhindtimes.in/news/goa-news/108-70-subsidy-for-paddy-transplanters Written by NT Network | Saturday, 27 June 2009 21:35 PANAJI: The director of agriculture, Mr Satish Tendulkar on Saturday said that the government intends to give 70 per cent subsidy on the paddy transplanter, a revolutionary farming implement, introduced to the state recently. Speaking during the demonstration of a paddy transplanter for farmers and community farming groups, organised by the Indian Council for Agricultural Research and Reira Eco Ventures, at a field in Saligao, he said that the department of agriculture also runs a scheme, which provides 50 per cent subsidy on other agricultural machines. The deputy chairman of the State Planning Board, Dr Wilfred de Sousa was also present on the occasion. Speaking further, the director of agriculture said that the department wants the agricultural societies to buy the paddy transplanter so that it can be leased to local community farming groups. “Our collective aim is to get this technology to the local farming community,” he stated. It was informed that Fr Hillary from Pillar brought first of such machine and is successfully using the same. Welcoming the arrival of mechanisation to Goan agricultural sector, Dr de Sousa, said that the same could be used in a better way, in the large land holdings. “Though 70 per cent subsidy on paddy transplanter is good, the state government should ideally give more subsidies on the same,” he observed, assuring that he would discuss the matter with the state government. The deputy chairman of the State Planning Board also stressed on the need for the government to promote its own food, just as other states in the country. He further maintained that Reira Eco Ventures should spread awareness on the mechanisation in farming and seek solutions. Mr Darryl Pereira of Reira Eco Ventures said that the mechanisation of transplanting paddy is not only expected to ease the workload on the local farming community, but also fill the void created by shortage of farm labour. “We want the youth to take to this profession and make it profitable,” he mentioned. “Our aim of organising this programme is to revitalise the agro sector and open avenues for the youth to take up farming as a profession,” Mr Pereira concluded. Reira Eco Ventures has set up a pilot project in a hectare plot in Saligao, where various crops, methods of cultivation and modernisation of various practices employed in farming are being studied.

Agriculture Awareness Camps Held In Quepem http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-4708225,prtpage-1.cms 27 Jun 2009, MARGAO: A series of awareness camps on kharif agriculture' organized by the state's agriculture department in remote areas of Quepem, has evoked a good response from the farming community. With the Quepem zonal agriculture office managing to sell a sizeable quantity of paddy seeds so far, officials are hopeful that the new schemes introduced by the government for effective seed treatment would prove beneficial to farmers from rural areas. Recently, at a programme organised by the zonal agriculture office, Quepem in coordination with the Paddi- Barcem village panchayat, agricultural items like paddy seeds, vegetable seeds, bio-pesticides and bio-control agents were supplied at 50% subsidized rates to the farming community of Paddi-Barcem, sources in the Quepem zonal agricultural office said. Farmers from Quiscond, Gokuldem, Paddi, Rawapan, Shirlem, Assoldi, Subdolem and adjoining areas were distributed paddy seeds, bio-control agents and vegetable seeds at the hands of Quepem MLA Chandrakant Kavlekar. "The Quepem sub-office has already sold over 3 tonnes of paddy seed of the Karjat-3. variety. This seed is sold at a subsidized rate of Rs 180 per 20 kg. Karjat-3 is a white bold seeded variety which is mostly preferred by cultivators for home consumption. Similarly 12 kg of vegetable seed like ladyfinger, Red Amaranthus, cluster beans and cucumber have already been sold in Quepem taluka," zonal agriculture officer (ZAO) Shivram Gaonkar said.. The agriculture department has also focused on prevention of seed borne diseases. "The department has already implemented a scheme of 100% seed treatment for control of fungal seed borne disease in paddy and sugarcane and vegetables in the last financial year. In order to convince the farming community about the benefits of seed treatment, we have even conducted demonstrationsk," Gaonkar added.

Government of India Ministry of Earth Sciences INDIA METEOROLOGICAL DEPARTMENT SPECIAL MONSOON REPORT http://www.imd.gov.in/city_weather/station/goa.htm http://www.imd.ernet.in/section/nhac/dynamic/SPLNEW.HTM http://www.imd.gov.in/section/satmet/img/sanew.htm