News Clips from Goa
 

Father Agnelo attracts hundreds http://www.indiancatholic.in/news/storydetails.php/13903-1-6-Father-Agnelo Published : November 19 2009 Hundreds of people, irrespective of religion, are flocking to the Pilar hilltop in Goa to pray to a venerable Catholic priest, whose death anniversary the Church is observing with a nine day Novena prayer. The Church will conclude the 82nd death anniversary programs of Venerable Father Agnelo D’Souza on Nov. 20, said Father Hilary Fernandes, vice-postulator for the cause of canonization of Father Agnelo. The people’s “presence is an indication of a deep faith and many among them are eager to relieve themselves from guilt and hurt,” the priest said, according to a report in The Times of India. He said people receive “inner healing” through the Sacrament of Reconciliation which is made available to them continuously during the novena days. The process of beatification of the saintly priest is in its initial stages but his tomb draws hundreds of people seeking inner and physical healing. Father Agnelo (1869-1927) led an exemplary life, according to records. As the faithful seek favors, members of the Missionaries of St Francis Xavier, to which Father Agnelo belonged, hope that one such miracle will help Father Agnelo come a step closer to sainthood. The society is commonly known as the Pilar Society. The vice-postulator revealed that the church in Rome is looking for a miracle which will expedite the canonization process. Father Agnelo was called venerable in 1986, but to proceed to the next stage of canonization, which attributes the title of Blessed, the Church insists on having a miracle wrought by the saintly soul. Father Fernandes said although five-six cases were sent earlier to Rome, due to some limitations they were not accepted. The Vatican wants doctors certify that the cure is inexplicable for medical science. “Difficulty arises because doctors are reluctant to give a medical certificate which is important to us,” the priest said. He said the Church will consider only cure of serious illness which is abandoned by medical doctors. The cured person also should report it was brought through the intercession of the saint. Courtesy: CathNewsIndia

Youth of Goan origin told to help others discover Goa http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/NRG-youth-told-to-help-others-discover-Goa/ TNN 1 December 2009, PANAJI: Twelve youth of Goan origin who are on a Goa visit under the state government department of NRI Affairs' 'Know Goa Programme' were urged by the department's commissioner Eduardo Faleiro to take their knowledge and understanding of Goa from the visit to their counterparts abroad. The programme is for the benefit of youth of Goan origin who are not Indian nationals and have no opportunity to discover Goa and India. The programme is intended to provide the participants with a unique opportunity to share their views, experiences and expectations. With a package of programmes focusing on learning and sharing thought processes with their counterparts in Goa and elsewhere in the country, the programme is aimed at exposure to urban and rural milieu, grassroots governance and cultural heritage. "Under this programme, 12 Goan diaspora youth, students and young professionals in the age group of 18 to 28 years, who have distinguished themselves in various fields and have abiding interest in India in general and Goa in particular, are sponsored every year in November-December on a 15-day visit to Goa and Delhi," Faleiro said speaking to mediapersons after his interaction with the participants on Monday. The first such programme, held from November 30 to December 14, 2008, attracted 12 participants from Australia, Canada, Mozambique and USA. While in Goa, the programme group was taken to educational, cultural, historical and industrial places of interest, besides interacting with elected representatives and meeting high dignitaries. In Delhi, the Ministry of Overseas India Affairs hosted their stay and took them places of historical and cultural significance in Delhi besides a day visit to Agra. The programme this year, scheduled from November 29 to December 12, has attracted participation of 12 youth hailing from Canada, Mozambique and UK. After being in Goa till December 8, the group will be taken to Delhi. So far, the group has visited the Goa university, interacted with the varsity's vice-chancellor, faculty members and students, visited the Goa Science Centre and on Monday evening were shown a presentation by professor Prajal Sakhardande on history and culture of Goa and another by Yusuf Sheikh, former director of Indian Television (Doordarshan) and noted Konkani poet on Goa images followed by recitation of Konkani poems

Mining a threat to Goa: Mike Pandey http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-5290198,prtpage-1.cms Rajendra P Kerkar, TNN 2 December 2009, PANAJI: "Tourists from across India and the world come to Goa to see its beaches and lush green mountains and to enjoy its soothing environment, but the alarming rate at which mining is going on in the state if it continues for a few more years at this pace it will pose a serious threat to Goa's natural beauty," renowned filmmaker and conservationist Mike Pandey said on Tuesday. Pandey, a three-time `Green Oscar' award winner, was chief guest at a special function organized by NGO ECHO-Goa in Panaji. He felicitated Parag Ranganekar, Nirmal Kulkarni, Sadguru Patil and Arnold Noronha for their contributions to the fields of wildlife and environment conservation. Pandey said man has become "greedy and self-centered". "We are plundering natural resources without thinking about the future. The man-elephant conflict has climaxed in various parts of India. Elephants from Dandeli are making inroads into Goa and Maharashtra as their natural habitat is threatened. The struggle for food and water has intensified and forced the mammoths to leave Dandeli," said the maker of the award-winning `The Vanishing Giants', a documentary that captured the plight of a captured elephant. Addressing the gathering, Pandey pointed out to the over 300 rivers which originate in the Western ghats including Goa's major lifelines, Mandovi and Zuari, and said that activities such as mining gradually destroy rivers and other water bodies through siltation and pollution. "Goa is blessed with a varied and rich biodiversity which needs discovering. There are certain species of flora and fauna which are found only in Goa. The horsehoe crab, found in abundance in Goa, has tremendous medicinal potential. Butterflies and honey bees are the most important insects which help in the process of pollination, with their existence threatened, crops are failing which in turn will be responsible for soaring food prices," said Pandey. Rise in sea level on account of global warming will create more complex problems in Goa, which is a coastal state, he added. "Goan youth have to come forward to protect and conserve the biological wealth of Goa," stressed Pandey. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-5290198,prtpage-1.cms

‘Goans not affected by job cuts in Gulf’ The Commissioner of NRI Affairs, Mr. Eduardo Faleiro on Monday said that Goans have not been affected by recession and job cut in the Gulf countries, even as news reports of fresh job cuts in Gulf countries were making rounds during the Eid holidays over the last weekend. News reports stated that workers in the construction sector, who had come down for Eid, had received SMSes from their employers not to return to work ad that the employers were cutting short the contracts of these workers. [NT]

Tourists begin to flock Colva, Benaulim With the tourist season barely underway, tourists have begun to flock to beaches in south Goa, particularly the beaches of Colva and Benaulim. These tourists come down to spend Christmas and usher in the New Year along our silvery beaches. “The flow of the domestic and international tourists is increasing along the coastal belt of the Salcete taluka, said Mr. Simon Fernandes, who runs a hotel there. [NT]

Pollution control board goes online The Environment Minister, Mr. Aleixo Sequeira on Monday inaugurated the Xtented Green Node Software that would be used for receiving online applications from industries, processing them and giving environmental clearance, receiving payment of fees, complaints from general public, etc in the office of the Goa State Pollution Control Board. Addressing the gathering after inauguration of the software, Mr. Sequeira told the gathering that the adoption of the new software was a step forward in e-governance by the GSPCB and would be beneficial both to the board as well as the industry. He, however, cautioned that there could be some teething problems that would be sorted out in due course of time. [NT]

Portuguese Civil Code cannot be model for India: Eduardo Commissioner for NRI Affairs ad former Supreme Court lawyer, Mr. Eduardo Faleiro said that the Portuguese Civil Code presently in force in Goa cannot be a model for an Uniform Civil Code for India, as sometimes suggested. Mr. Eduardo was speaking after releasing a book, The Portuguese law of Goa (Succession and inventory) by Ave Cleto Afonso at Clube Vasco-da-Gama on Friday. [NT]

‘A Day at Sea’ attempts to attract youth to Indian navy ‘A Day at Sea’ an unique adventurous programme by Indian Navy in Arabian Sea, saw participation of three vessels with family members of the naval sailors, officers and media personnel from Vasco on board, on the occasion of Navy Week celebration on Monday. Three vessels of Indian Navy, INS Mumbai, a guided missile destroyer and INS Brahmaputra, a guided missile frigate both based in Mumbai and INS Bitra, a small fast attack craft based in Goa sailed off from berth-8 of Mormugao Port Trust at around 9.40 am, covering distance of about 60 nautical miles into the Arabian Sea. [NT]

‘Ummid’ can kindle ‘hope’ for senior citizens Reinvigorating hope in senior citizens may perhaps be on the cards in Navelim Panchayat. While there appeared to be the will to kindle hope through a scheme title ‘Ummid’ (meaning hope) instituted under the aegis of the Directorate of Social Welfare, the Navelim Panchayat is strapped for space. Although land was earlier in possession with the Navelim panchayat, sarpanch Paul Pereira claimed the same to have been utilized for constructing a ‘Panchayat Ghar’. He has however promised to ‘see’ that the requirements of the scheme are ‘accommodated’ in the ‘Panchayat Ghar’. [GT]

Over 150 workers treated, discharged Over 150 employees working at the Kaiga Atomic Power Plant (KAPP) were hospitalized at various hospitals in Karwar, Manipal and nearby places after they drank the water from a cooler that was contaminated with radioactive tritium. Sources informed Herald that the victims were unaware that they were affected but came to know about it after a radiation detector, placed over the site plant, found that 153 employees working at Reactor No 1, where maintenance work was being undertaken by a contractor, had nuclear radiation in their body much higher than permissible limits. [H]

Mopa project to get big push With the central government announcing that it has given the ‘in principle’ approval for construction of a Greenfield airport at Mopa, earlier this week, the state government has decided to expedite the process for going ahead with the project that was envisaged more than a decade ago. The Chief Secretary, Mr. Sanjay Kumar Shrivastava told The Navhind Timess that the government would complete the formalities at the state level at the earliest so that the project could be implemented as early as possible. He said once the land acquisition is completed the government would call for bids for appointment of consultants for execution of the project. [NT]

Family income ceiling raised to Rs 1.5 lakh for welfare schemes More people will be able to avail benefits of social welfare schemes as the government has raised the ceiling to Rs 1.5 lakh per annum thereby bringing uniformity in the family income ceiling. Hitherto, each department had its own criteria though most followed an income ceiling ranging from Rs 60,000 to Rs one lakh per annum. [H]

CPI demands raising of minimum wages to Rs 235 In view of the rising prices of essential commodities in the state, Rs 150 per day minimum wages fixed by the government for daily wage workers is too low, said the leader of the Communist Party of India, Mr. Christopher Fonseca, and demanded that it should be increased to Rs 235 immediately failing which the workers would take to the streets. Mr. Fonseca said this while addressing a public meeting of Goa Convention of Workers at Ponda on Wednesday. [NT]

State rejects patrol boats from Goa Shipyard http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-5259068,prtpage-1.cms Yogesh Naik, TNN 23 November 2009, 03:46am IST MUMBAI: Days before the first anniversary of 26/11, the state government has refused to take delivery of special patrol boats from Goa Shipyard Limited because they reportedly have some technical limitations. The state was supposed to get 28 boats from the Union home ministry under the coastal security programme. Maharashtra's principal secretary (home) P K Jain said, 'The first lot of five boats was given to us some time back. We found that the fuel tanks are very small, they can hold only 500 litres each. It means that these fuel-guzzling boats can be operated for just five hours.'' Goa Shipyard was to deliver another five boats soon. "But we have told them to stop their delivery and fit 1,000-litre fuel tanks so that the boat can be seabound for a longer time,'' Jain said. He also pointed out that the water tank for the staff had a capacity of only 100 litres. "As a result, the water gets over in a very short span of time.'' The boats for the coastal states of Western India are built at Goa Shipyard, while the ones for the eastern states are made at Garden Reach Factory in Kolkata. The state government has brought these shortcomings to the notice of Goa Shipyard. When TOI called up Goa Shipyard general manager B K Upadhyay, he initially parried the questions. Later, he said that he was unaware about the Maharashtra government's demand for a 1000-litre fuel tank. The coastal security programme was drawn up nearly four years ago by the Union home ministry and it had agreed to provide boats under the scheme. Highly placed sources in the central government said that they wanted to import boats for all coastal states. But fearing charges of corruption, a central Congress minister decided against a tender to be floated for import of boats. Later, he suggested patrol boats should be indigenously made. When terror struck on 26/11, the Mumbai police depended on hired fishing trawlers for patrol. Since the delivery schedule of Goa Shipyard was not decided, the state decided to buy another 29 boats (six for Mumbai) from a private operator off Dharamtar. This will cost Rs 58 crore to the state exchequer and Jain said that the delivery from this operator will start next month. At present, the two patrol boats given to Mumbai police by Goa Shipyard are posted off Bhabha Atomic Research Centre as there is a threat to nuclear installations. 'It is a quite cumbersome task to bring the boats to the shore for refuelling,'' said a police constable of Port police. The delivery schedule of the Goa Shipyard is very slow and the Maharashtra government had expressed unhappiness at the tardy pace. Upadhyay said that he did not want to speak on this issue.