News Clips from Goa
 

Goan expats can now get their houses back There’s some good news for non-resident Indians (NRIs) of Goan origin who have not been able to take possession of their premises. The Goa government has just notified the amendment to the Goa Buildings (Lease, Rent and Eviction) Control Act giving much relief to the NRIs. Now; Goan NRIs would be entitled to recover possession of any premises “on the grounds that the premises are bonafide required by him for occupation by himself or any member of his family. ”No sale: There is a condition the NRI will have to follow as provided in the Act. The NRI will not be allowed to sell the premises or transfer the same through some other means or let it out, before the expiry of a period of three years from the date of taking possession of the premises. How to go about: To avail benefits from the amendment, the NRI will have to apply to the Rent Controller. Offices of rent controllers are situated in Mapusa, Panjim, Mormugao, etc. [H] Click Here for detailed article.

Kamat seeks special attention from Center Chief Minister Digambar Kamat yesterday said that Goa today needs special consideration from the central government for development of infrastructure. He said Goa being most sought after tourist destination is visited by tourists double the size of its population every year. Kamat was speaking as chief guest after inaugurating a two-day conference on Centre-State Relations organized by the Commission on Centre-State Relations New Delhi in Co-operation with the Goa Government at Hotel Marriott Miramar. [GT]

Konkani does not have any religious boundary: Pundalik Renowed Konkani writer and Central Sahitya Akademi's Konkani advisory Board Convenor Pundalik Naik has started that Konkani Language which is spoken in states of Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerla is the Mother tongue of Hindus, Christians and Muslims. [H]

Vice Chancellor against treating education on par with business Vice Chancellor of Goa University, Prof Dileep N Deobagkar has said education would face a big problem no soon vested interests treat it on par with business. Delivering the Pandurang Raya Bhatikar Memorial lecture on “A refreshing approach to education”, Prof Deobagkar said that gone are the days when education was controlled and imparted by the Rishis and teachers, who taught the students what is to be taught. “In those days, the Kings and Rulers and people in power only helped the Rishis and teachers to teach what they want to teach”, he said, adding that “today ministers and knowledge commissions tell and control the teachers what they feel should be taught to the students”. [H]

Goa crafts to be displayed abroad Goa’s handicrafts will be displayed in two of the biggest and most prestigious international trade fairs. The Central Government has chosen the Goa Handicrafts Rural and Small Scale Industries Development Corporation (GHRSSIDC), the first achievement of its kind for the corporation. GHRSSIDC will participate in the California Gift Fair in Los Angeles from July 17 to 21 and in The saloniki Gift Fair, Greece from September 5 to 13, to explore lucrative export opportunities in the US and Europe. The Central Government will be bearing the entire cost of participation, said GHRSSIDC Managing Director Nikhil Desai, who will represent the corporation in the fairs. [H]

New Book of Short Stories Kothamall released: Goan Review Art Foundation (GRAF) released 'Kothamall', a book of twelve short stories, written by 12 renowned Konkani short story writers. The 100-pages book, compiled and edited by Fausto V da Costa, features short stories of Soter Barreto, J B Moraes, Jayanti Naik, Fr Freddy J da Costa, Sheela Kolambkar, Viney Quadros, Lawrence D'Souza-Kamani, Pio Esteves, Marcos Gonsalves, Philomena Sam Francisco, Lino B Dourado and Walter Menezes with cover picture by Pio Esteves. This is the first ever short story Konkani book in the Roman script, which features literature of Devanagari and Kanada script Konkani writers along with Roman script Konkani writers, to promote the literary work of Konkani in different scripts among the readers of roman scripts. Priced at Rs 50, the book is available at all outlets in Mumbai and Goa. For further information contact Gable D'Souza on 9820494439. [H]

Polluted state rivers take toll on fish The rising level of pollution over the years in River Sal has taken a toll on the quality of fish and has led to a sharp decline in the production of fish leading to shortage of fish along the Goa coast forcing fishermen to venture into seas of Ratnagiri and even Karwar. A recent study carried out by the associate professor, department of zoology, Carmel college for women, Dr Manoj Borkar and others has revealed that the land-based contamination hampers the quality of fish. He said releasing of untreated sewage or partially treated sewage enhances the nutrients in the sea which has an adverse effect on the fish. [NT]

Over 40,000 Goans return home on job losses in Gulf http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4774429.cms?prtpage=1 14 Jul 2009,  | Smitha Venkateswaran, ET Bureau PANAJI: The large number of Goans returning home following job losses in the Gulf countries, mainly Dubai, has the state government worried. It has now initiated efforts to create a special corpus to help such non-resident Goans (NRGs). The state government has put in place a mechanism to create such a fund along with a pension scheme, if possible, for the NRGs. “Our aim is to create a financial corpus which will be self-sufficient to aid the NRGs,” said Eduardo Faleiro, former external affairs minister and the commissioner of NRI Affairs, Goa. A bill in this regard will be tabled in the state’s assembly session this month. The welfare fund, to be based on the contributions made by NRGs, aims to provide financial relief to Goan expats in these times of financial turmoil. “The level of relief to be given will depend on the expats’ contributions to the fund along with other criteria like experience, qualification and their levels of designation,” adds Mr. Faleiro. The data available in this regard suggests that over 40,000 NRGs have returned to Goa in the past 10 months as a result of the global financial meltdown. Considering Goa’s size, 40,000 is a large number. The state already has over one lakh registered unemployed. “It’s a major loss for the state. The NRGs are adding to the state’s burden. Their return also means the remittances coming from them would stop. It’s a double whammy of sorts,” a state government official said. According to the Goa Migration Study 2008, nearly 12% of Goa’s 14 lakh population has members living and working abroad. Of this, nearly 60% are in the Gulf region. “I have reports that many from Dubai are returning home. This is a major cause for our concern,” admitted Mr. Faleiro. Goa enjoyed a remittance of nearly Rs 700 crore from NRGs, equivalent to 6.3% of the state domestic product. Any dent in this can significantly impact the state’s economy. “The state is badly hit by the world crisis,” the state official said. The influx of NRGs is bound to strain the state’s resources further. Coming in after a weak tourist season and depleting mining revenue, the state government needs to address the issue of NRGs with urgency.

Goans: A Successful Populace http://www.navhindtimes.in/buzz/628-goans-a-successful-populace Written by CHRISTINA VIEGAS | Saturday, 11 July 2009 01:53 Today, Goa is not what it was. A relatively laid back colony of 6, 00,000 residents who lived a ‘susegado’ life, under the Portuguese. Four decades after Liberation, Goa has slowly but surely transformed itself from a feudal agrarian society to an acclaimed tourist destination of international fame, and a modern industrial estate. Touch on any important aspect such as wealth, health, literacy, transport etc, and the state occupies a very good position. The national average of growth of population is 2.2 percent per annum, while Goa is 1.6 per cent, which includes a high growth rate among the migrant population. Highly commendable, as it was 1.6 per cent in the Census 1991 and considering that the state witnessed a spurt in population during 1960-1971. Reason being large scale development programmes undertaken by the government which attracted labourers from other states and to some extent repatriation of Goans from abroad, mainly Africa. Goa boasts of a high literacy rate of 88 percent. Falling short of Kerala at 94 per cent? “Nothing to worry about,” say the experts enlightening us with, “From our 88 per cent, only two per cent don’t know to read or write in English. The literacy is Kerala is predominantly in the local language.” Are we a prosperous lot? “Yes,” affirms Mr. Nitin Kunkolienkar, immediate past president of the GCCI, “Our per capita income at current prices is between 75,000 to 90,000, which is extremely good, while the national average is only between 30,000 to 32,000. We have the highest density of vehicles at 35,000 numbers, getting registered annually. In terms of connectivity, every village is networked on telecom. We contribute the highest in the country in terms of river navigation with 80 per cent. As for roads, for every 1,000 square kilometers, there is 850 km of road according to the national average, but in Goa it is 1,261 km of road for every 1,000 square kilometers.

Goan expats can now get their houses back From: oHERALDo: http://oheraldo.in/printerfriendlypage.asp?nid=24359&cid=10 PANJIM, JULY 10 2009: There’s some good news for non-resident Indians (NRIs) of Goan origin who have not been able to take possession of their premises. The Goa government has just notified the amendment to the Goa Buildings (Lease, Rent and Eviction) Control Act giving much relief to the NRIs. The amendment bill, moved by Revenue Minister Jose Philip D’Souza was passed in the Goa assembly in February this year, but there was some delay in referring the bill to the Governor for his assent. Sources said that the file had remained with the Law Department and it was only after the matter was reported in the Herald, that the process was re-started. The bill, on being received, was immediately given assent to by the Governor Dr S S Sidhu. Now, Goan NRIs would be entitled to recover possession of any premises “on the grounds that the premises are bonafide required by him for occupation by himself or any member of his family.” However, this is “provided that the NRI had become the owner of the premises prior to the creation of the tenancy in respect of the said premises, except where the NRI had acquired ownership by inheritance”, the notification says. No sale: There is a condition the NRI will have to follow as provided in the Act. The NRI will not be allowed to sell the premises or transfer the same through some other means or let it out, before the expiry of a period of three years from the date of taking possession of the premises. If the NRI fails to do so, according to the Act, the evicted tenant would be able to get the premises back. If the NRI fails to adhere to the condition that he should not transfer the same premises for three years, “the evicted tenant may apply to the controller for an order that he or she be restored the possession of the said premises and the controller shall make an order accordingly”, the notification said. How to go about: To avail benefits from the amendment, the NRI will have to apply to the Rent Controller. Offices of rent controllers are situated in Mapusa, Panjim, Mormugao, etc. The controller would pass an order for eviction of tenant on an application by the NRI under clause (a) supported by a certificate from the respective district magistrate that he is a NRI and is willing to reside in Goa. The district magistrate would issue such a certificate on an affidavit sworn by the NRI before the competent authority to the effect that he doesn’t possess any other suitable residence in the local area where he or members of his family can reside, according to the notification. For purpose of the amendment, “Non-resident Indian”, in the Act, means a person residing outside India, who is either a citizens of India or is a person of Indian origin. The amendment comes into force with immediate effect, the notification said.

Goa number. 2 in economic growth http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-4754937,prtpage-1.cms 9 Jul 2009 NEW DELHI: Goa's growth rate in 2005-06 and 2007-08 was 10.9%, while Haryana led with 11%. This was highlighted in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday by minister of state for planning and parliamentary affairs V Narayanasamy. "During this period, the average annual growth rate varied from 3.9% for Arunachal to 11% in Haryana," he said. The states which registered growth rate below the average growth rate of the country are Arunachal, Assam, Jharkhand, Himachal , Jammu & Kashmir, MP and Chhattisgarh. Further, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, TN, Tripura, UP, Uttarakhand and West Bengal also grew below the average growth rate during these three years. agencies "Inter-state variations in growth rates are largely due to historical difference in initial conditions, natural resource endowments, level of industrialisation and differences in human capital indicators viz education, health," the Lower House was informed.

Agriculture dept to boost paddy production http://www.navhindtimes.in/news/goa-news/501-agriculture-dept-to-boost-paddy-prod Written by NT Network | Tuesday, 07 July 2009 02:05 PANAJI: The department of agriculture proposes to bring nearly 35,145 hectares land under paddy cultivation during the period between June and September, which witnesses cultivation of monsoon paddy crop, namely Khariff or Sorod. As many as 40,000 farmers are engaged in paddy cultivation in the state. The director of agriculture, Mr. Satish Tendulkar, speaking to ‘The Navhind Times’ on Monday said that though around 36,000 hectares of land exists in Goa, which is under the paddy cultivation, farmers use much lesser land to cultivate Khariff or Sorod crop. “Furthermore, only 16,000 to 17,000 hectares land is used to cultivate the Rabi or Vaingan paddy crop, which is grown during the months from November to January,” he informed. “The agriculture department has therefore, decided to encourage the farming community and boost paddy production during the current Khariff or Sorod season,” he maintained, adding that the department intends to make the Goan farmers utilise the maximum available land for cultivating the monsoon paddy crop. “The Khariff or Sorod crop is totally dependent on rain water while the Rabi or Vaingan crop depends on nullahs, rivers, streams, tanks, wells and canals for water,” he pointed out.. It was also informed that the zonal agricultural offices have started distributing different varieties of paddy seeds such as KRH2, Karjat 3, MO-17 and MO-9 Boghavati, besides the regular Jaya and Jyoti seeds along with the agricultural kits. So far 14,805 kg of these seeds have been distributed to the farmers in the state. In addition, 368 matric tonnes of Jyoti and Jaya variety paddy seeds were sold to the farmers at 50 per cent subsidised rates through Krishi Bazar, Mapusa, Pernem Taluka Farmers Society and Goa Bagayatdar, Ponda. The agriculture department has also procured new variety seeds such as Tur (S-1) and Moong Shina, which are to be given to the farmers from Pernem, Bicholim and Ponda taluka to grow on hilly areas. Mr. Tendulkar maintained that the Goan cultivators, in the past, were taking a number of crops pertaining to pulses and cereals like ragi (nachani) during the monsoon, while horse-gram (kulith) and black gram (udid) during winter season. “However, cultivation of pulses and cereals stopped some years ago,” he informed, adding, “Of recent, the prices of udid, tur and moong have increased substantially, thus making their cultivation profitable.” “The agriculture department will be providing seeds of such crops to the farmers, to be initially grown on trial basis, along the hilly region, as saturation of water damages such crops,” the director of agriculture stated. The agriculture department has disbursed around Rs 1.21 crore to the paddy farmers in the form of support price, to protect their interest when the prices of agriculture produce falls. The support price of Rs 1.26 lakh for palm oil and Rs 71 lakh for sugarcane was also given, last year. The director of agriculture further said that during the current year about 2,000 farmers will be trained in Goa while 35 extension officers will be sent outside Goa for training. In addition, under the two month training in skilled development programmes to be imparted at departmental farms, the department of agriculture will cover 40 youth, including school dropouts, unemployed rural youth and agriculture labourers who would be paid a monthly stipend of Rs 2,000. “Furthermore, 20 agricultural training camps for farmers, NGOs, schools and colleges will be conducted at Farmers Training Centre, Ela Farm to deliberate on issues related to nutritional garden, beekeeping, soil sampling, nursery, landscaping, composting, mushroom production and other allied topics,” Mr. Tendulkar noted. As an added incentive to the local farmers for excelling in their work, the agriculture department has planned to hold Krishi Mahotsav, an agricultural festival, this year, in every taluka wherein the farmers would be enlightened by agricultural experts on advanced agricultural machinery and other developments in agricultural sector. Awards would also be presented to one best farmer from each of the 11 talukas comprising of Rs 10,000, and from these 11 award-winning farmers, the best state level farmer would be selected and presented with the award on the Goa Liberation Day. Mr. Tendulkar also informed that under the National Horticulture Mission, the government will earmark an amount of Rs 3 crore for different components. Thrust will also be laid on post harvest with special emphasis on marketing, processing and promotion of organic farming, he said, adding that adequate infrastructure is also being provided to augment irrigation facilities such as construction of well, laying of pump and pipeline and setting up drip and sprinkler system. The agriculture department, under the National Horticulture Mission provides up to 35 per cent subsidy on flower cultivation for flowers like anthurum, orchids, gerbera and lily, and up to 50 per cent subsidy on the fruit cultivation, for fruits like cashew, mango, pineapple, banana and chickoo.

Chikhal kalo: An expression of joy Printed from: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-4739010,prtpage-1.cms 5 Jul 2009, MARCEL: Many Goan festivals are linked to the cycles of nature and it isn't surprising that the monsoon is an occasion to celebrate chikhal kalo, literally mud play. Unique to the village of Marcel, a ward of Tivre in Ponda taluka, it's celebrated on the twelfth day of the fourth month of Ashadh in the Hindu calendar and is dedicated to lord Krishna in his infant form Balkrishna. On the day, which was celebrated on Saturday this year, Hindus, dressed only in their lower garments, play traditional as well as sporting games in the muck (chikhal) in front of the peepal tree in the Devaki-Krishna temple in Marcel. The idol of Devaki-Krishna is originally from the island village of Chorao in Tiswadi and was taken to Marcel during the Portuguese regime. Chikhal kalo is linked to a baby lord Krishna playing with his friends in Vrindavan and is celebrated as a sign of gratitude to the lord. "The arrival of Devaki-Krishna in Marcel heralded a new chapter in the socio-cultural life of Tivre. Forgetting all types of differences we come together on this day every year and celebrate chikhal kalo by singing devotional songs and playing a variety of traditional games," says Premanad Naik, a theater artist from Marcel. On the eleventh day of Ashadh, a saptak or non-stop performance of devotional songs is carried on in the temple of Devaki-Krishna. As soon as the saptak ends, villagers from all walks of life assemble in the temple and invoke the folk deity Dad Sakhal. To the sounds of the drums, cymbals and bells, the chants grow louder and "Jai Hari Vithal" is invoked jubilantly. "This year, our Mahashala Kala Sangam organised the all Goa bhajan singing contest which received good response," says Tukaram Shet, a well-known writer from the locality. When the chanting ends, the real fun starts. Those wishing to participate in chikhal kalo, whether children, youngsters or even the elderly, apply oil from the huge standing brass lamp in the temple hall and wearing only their lower garments enter the open ground in front of the temple to play in the rain-drenched mud. When they start playing traditional and sporting games, with devotional songs and chants being sung in the background, devotees standing on the platform under the temple's peepal tree, throw a variety of sweets to those in the muck and the catching of puran polis, bananas and ladoos are a thrill of their own. Kirtikumar Prabhu, a well-known artiste says, "To mark the celebration we prepare a special pancake called ball' made of wheat, moong dal, jaggery and copra (shredded coconut). Today, this is almost an extinct practice," he claims. Playing different games on the mushy ground, in the heavy rains, applying wet clay and lifting a friend and forcing him to take a mud bath is a sight for sore eyes. Premanand Shirodkar, a lecturer from Marcel says, "By applying oil on the body and then taking this mud bath while playing games, the body is believed to get sturdy and tough." The celebration comes to an end when youngsters, forming a human pyramid break the clay pot of butter tied to a branch of the peepal tree. At the end of it all, the games reflect the spirit of youth and vitality. Children are enthusiastic participants and people, forgetting their innumerable obligations, enjoy their moment of rain-induced joy.