Posted by IndiaNewsInfo.com on January 28, 2013
Fish gets scarce in Goa over the weekend…
By Martin De Souza – Goa Newz Network
Thanks to the long, extended weekend, Goa had hordes of tourists pouring in from neighbouring states like Maharahstra and Karnataka. However, many of the tourists who wanted to taste some of the sea food which Goa is internationally famous for, were disappointed and some of them even returned home angry. Lobsters, king crabs, tiger prawns, king fish pomfrets and other expensive fish were not available in most of the small local beach side restaurants and shacks on Sunday.
If the Goa State government does not act quickly and resolve the issue, the strike will impact the restaurant business in Goa during the Carnival, says Salvador De Costa convener of the SpeakGoa movement who is contemplating submitting a memo on behalf of the restaurant owners in North Goa to chief minister Manohar Parrikar and the Tourism Minister. “Goa is expecting at least 10 lakh visitors during the Carnival this year and with an acute shortage of sea food, prices of other food items are also likely to rise exponentially as wholesalers want to make maximum profit, opined De Costa.
Some of the restaurants which did have fish in stock were charging double the regular rates quoting the ongoing trawler strike and fish shortage in Goa. Trawlers from the neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Karnataka have also joined the strike causing a huge shortfall of fish in the market for local consumption. Martins Corner at BetalbatimBeach in south Goa hiked their rates by about 15 to 25 per cent over the weekend for sea food items. Guests who went to Martins over the weekend were disappointed since their favourite seafood was not available, according to a regular at the famous restaurant. Café Ritz – the small eatery at Panaji known for its fish thali had only a few options to offer – on a normal day they have at least 25-30 varieties of sea food. This weekend the menu was down to 15-18 sea food options. Other smaller restaurants were serving “cold-storage fish” and even the quantity was much lesser.” Says Cajetan Britto of Brittos – the very popular sea food restaurant at BagaBeach, “We ran short of certain varieties of sea food including crabs and pomfrets over the weekend. However, since Brittos is primarily a sea food restaurant and we buy fish in huge quantities, we had options to offer our guests. But smaller restaurants were badly affected. The price of sea food also has gone up and even the bigger restaurants felt the pinch over the weekend. Many restaurants like Brittos have a fixed price menu which is applicable throughout the year. We cannot change the price and unlike other restaurants who charge on a daily basis we could not hike our rates.”
The trawler owners are angered by the diesel price hike coupled with the re-classification of fishing as an industrial activity – earlier fishing was classified as an agricultural activity and was eligible for various subsidies including a lower rate on diesel.
With the new classification in force trawler owners now have to shell out Rs 61.35 for a litre of diesel — an increase of a whopping Rs 11 per litre from the earlier subsidized price. Trawlers in Goa have announced an indefinite strike from January 29 if the price of diesel is not reduced. With the state government not taking notice of the trawler owners’ demands, fish may soon vanish from the menu of most Goans in the coming days. The shortfall in the supply of fish has had a collateral effect on vegetables and milk products which also saw a small increase in price. Many tourists from Maharashtra and north India were shocked at the price of fish and decided to go in for a vegetarian or chicken menu thus increasing the demand for vegetables and chicken over the weekend.
Says a Micheal Fernandes (name changed on request) a restaurant owner in the prime tourist area of Candolim in North Goa “The price of seafood has gone up almost three times for some varieties of sea food. Even the normal fare has doubled. There is no fish is the market and those who venture out into the sea charge double for whatever they have got.” Fernandes owns one shack and two restaurants in North Goa and says he may have to take fish off his menu completely in a day or two. Goa has approximately 1,200-1300 trawlers which net nearly 70-75 million tonnes of fish annually. Most trawlers at the major fishing jetties at Cutbona, Betim and Chapora were anchored and did not venture out into the sea, says Fernandes blaming the local government for inaction in the matter.
(Martin De Souza is a senior journalist based in Goa)
Posted in Features | Tagged: 200 trawlers, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, airport in Sindhudurg, annual fish catch 70 million tonnes in goa, comunidades and gaunkari system in goa, Congress leader Francisco Sardinha, Cutbona jetty, dabolim airport, Dabolim MLA Mauvin Godinho, Fatorda MLA, fish prices have doubled in goa, fishing an agricultural activity, fishing as an industrial, Fishing trawler owners from Goa, Goa has 1, Goa Khazan Land Development Board Act 2012, Goa tourism development corporation, Goemkar convenor Vijai Sardesai, Goemkar movement, GTDC, GTDC chairman Nilesh Cabral, GTDC will float a tender for mayem property, independent MLA Vijai Sardesai, jetties at Cutbona Betim Chapora, land acuisition for mopa airport, Marine scientists, mayem lake gets 3 crore facelift, Mayem lake property, Menino Afonsofishing co-operatives in goa, mopa airport, mopa airport controversy, mopa airport vijai sardesai, Nuvem MLA Francisco Mickky Pacheco, Nuvem MLA Pacheco, potential fish famine in Goa, rising inflation, South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha, tourism-propelled fishing in goa, trawling expeditions more expensive, upgradation of Mayem lake, upgraded by a mining company | Leave a Comment »
Posted by IndiaNewsInfo.com on January 23, 2013
A policeman was arrested for allegedly molesting a woman on the pretext of conducting an investigation at her residence in Mapusa town near here, police said today.
Constable Prashant Dawaskar, 30, was arrested yesterday after a woman lodged a complaint with Mapusa police that he, along with four other civilians, ransacked her flat and molested her, while trying to conduct a probe on a complaint against her husband, police said.
The woman and her six-year-old daughter were at home when the alleged offence took place, while her husband was out on his duty.
The woman mentioned in her complaint that Dawaskar entered her house on Sunday at around midnight without a woman police constable and body searched her, amounting to molestation.
Superintendent of Police (North) Vishram Borkar said the constable had been arrested and placed under suspension.
There was no formal complaint against the woman and the constable acted on his own, Borkar said.
The woman alleged that all the persons entered the house forcibly claiming that her husband owed them money.
SOURCE: DECCAN HERALD
Posted in News | Tagged: 000 sq m, 20 pedal boats for Mayem lake, adventure sports like hot-air ballooning, adventure tourism in the mining belt, airport in Sindhudurg, Assocham, Avelino de Sa president of Disability Rights Association of Goa, Beach Soccer Worldwide, BSWW, cabinet minister were involved in illegal mining scam, camp lands in goa, camping spots in goa, caravan facility for tourists, Caravan Points in goa, comunidades and gaunkari system in goa, Congress leader Francisco Sardinha, curbs on shipments, dabolim airport, Dabolim MLA Mauvin Godinho, Department of Social Welfare, Digambar Kamat involved in illegal mining scam, Disability Rights Association of Goa, domestic steel industry, Fatorda MLA, Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, FIMI Secretary General R K Sharma, Finance Ministry, first professional beach soccer championship, former chief minister Digambar Kamat, former Congress chief minister involved in illegal mining scam, former minister Joaquim Alemao, GMOEA, GMOEA spokesperson P K Mukherjee, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, Goa Football Association, Goa Football Development Council, goa igp sanjay singh transfered, Goa Khazan Land Development Board Act 2012, Goa Mineral Ore Exporters Association, Goa tourism development corporation, Goa’s popular football clubs, Goemkar convenor Vijai Sardesai, Goemkar movement, GTDC, GTDC chairman Nilesh Cabral, GTDC will develop 15, GTDC will float a tender for mayem property, higher duty and freight charges for mining, hinterlands of Goa, hire a caravan in goa, illegal mining in goa, independent MLA Vijai Sardesai, inspector general of police Sanjay Singh, iron ore export duty, iron ore export has plunged 62 percent, Joaquim Alemao involved in illegal mining scam, Kids zone at mayem lake, land acuisition for mopa airport, mayem lake gets 3 crore facelift, mayem lake hub of adventure tourism, Mayem lake property, Mayem lake property is 1.47 lakh sq m, miner's apex body FIMI, miners in Goa, mining ban in some key states, mopa airport, mopa airport controversy, mopa airport vijai sardesai, new South Goa collectorate building, night camps in goa, no dearth of iron ore in india, Nuvem MLA Francisco Mickky Pacheco, Nuvem MLA Pacheco, outdoor camps in goa, paid fishing at mayem lake, paragliding company from Pune, Policeman arrested for molesting woman in Mapusa, professional beach soccer championship in Goa, rapes in goa, reduction in export duty on iron ore, relief to the people from South Goa, remote areas such as Canacona and Neturlim, Social Welfare Department in South Goa, South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha, the Mines Ministry, tool for subsidising inefficient domestic steel industry, Union home ministry issued transfer order of Goa IGP, union home ministry transfers goa igp, upgradation of Mayem lake, upgraded by a mining company, vasco rape case, welfare schemes of the goa government, woman molested mapusa | Leave a Comment »
Posted by IndiaNewsInfo.com on January 23, 2013
PANAJI: The Goa tourism development corporation (GTDC) will shortly undertake upgradation of its only lake-view property at Mayem by spending about 3 crore.
GTDC chairman Nilesh Cabral said that earlier the Mayem lake property was supposed to be upgraded by a mining company at a cost of 4 crore, but with the stoppage of mining, the mining company has backed out of the project.
Cabral said that the GTDC will float a tender in February to appoint a consultant for the upgradation project. The consultant will advise the government on how to go about beautifying and upgrading the property. But Cabral has a few ideas of his own; for example, he intends to buy 20 pedal boats for tourists at the Mayem lake. He wants to introduce paid fishing in the lake.
Cabral also wants to build a ‘Kids zone’ with fun items like an array of laughing mirrors and other toys installed therein. He also wants to build picnic zones where families or groups may have their own picnics by paying a nominal fee to the GTDC.
While the Mayem lake property is 1.47 lakh sq m, the GTDC will only develop 15,000 sq m in the first phase.
The GTDC chairman also said he has plans to create a hub of adventure tourism in the mining belt in the hinterland of Goa.
He said the beaches are already crowded and even parking has become a problem. There is plenty of space in the hinterland and adventure sports like hot-air ballooning can easily be taken up there, he said.
Cabral said that he has already had two rounds of talks with representatives of a paragliding company from Pune who are interested in starting the activity in the hinterland. He also spoke of his idea to start a caravan facility for tourists who can hire a caravan and drive it to certain ‘Caravan Points’ in the hinterland where they can camp there for the nights.
Posted in News | Tagged: 000 sq m, 20 pedal boats for Mayem lake, adventure sports like hot-air ballooning, adventure tourism in the mining belt, Beach Soccer Worldwide, BSWW, camp lands in goa, camping spots in goa, caravan facility for tourists, Caravan Points in goa, first professional beach soccer championship, Goa Football Association, Goa Football Development Council, Goa tourism development corporation, Goa’s popular football clubs, GTDC, GTDC chairman Nilesh Cabral, GTDC will develop 15, GTDC will float a tender for mayem property, hinterlands of Goa, hire a caravan in goa, Kids zone at mayem lake, mayem lake gets 3 crore facelift, mayem lake hub of adventure tourism, Mayem lake property, Mayem lake property is 1.47 lakh sq m, night camps in goa, outdoor camps in goa, paid fishing at mayem lake, paragliding company from Pune, professional beach soccer championship in Goa, upgradation of Mayem lake, upgraded by a mining company | Leave a Comment »