Goa CM Manohar Parrikar: Alemao supported fake degrees racket

Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar Wednesday accused former PWD minister Churchill Alemao of patronising a fake degree racket, recently busted by police, saying the illegalities eroded the sanctity of the department.

“Alemao, during his tenure as PWD minister, was directing various candidates to this academy (which operated the racket), giving fake certificates before recruiting them as engineers in PWD department”, Parrikar said in his reply to a question on affairs of PWD Department in Legislative Assembly. The crime branch recently exposed the racket after raiding a private academy in Margao.

According to police, the racketeers used to provide bogus educational certificates, purportedly of various recognised universities, including the Board of Secondary Education, Gwalior.

“The bogus certificates were bought from this academy by candidates who have now become engineers”, Parrikar said, adding that the illegalities committed by Alemao has eroded the sanctity of PWD department. Alemao, a senior Congress leader was PWD minister in Digambar Kamat-led government.

SOURCE: PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Goa Congress slams BJP for paying sacked miners

Panaji : The Goa Congress lashed out at the Manohar Parrikar-led government Tuesday for paying mining firm employees who had been sacked after the ban on mining in the state.

Leader of opposition in the state assembly Pratapsing Rane said that instead of doling out money, the government should ask the mining companies to re-hire the workers they have sacked.

“How long is the government going to give them money? These are employees of private organisations. Today it is the mining companies, tomorrow it will be some other private companies,” Rane told the assembly during a discussion on the motion of thanks to the Goa governor’s speech.

“We can take an assurance from the companies that they (employees) should be taken back at the same post they had,” Rane said.

Goa’s Governor B.V. Wanchoo in his speech Monday had announced that the state government was working out a financial package for people affected by the mining ban, through which each affected individual would receive about Rs.6,000 per month as dole until the mining impasse was resolved.

Four months ago, the Supreme Court enforced a mining ban in Goa after a judicial commission unearthed a Rs.35,000 crore illegal mining scam being carried out by an unscrupulous nexus comprising politicians, bureaucrats and mining companies.

SOURCE: IANS

 

Mining lobby attacks Goa Governor for ignoring their plight

Panaji: The mining lobby on Wednesday attacked Goa Governor Bharat Veer Wanchoo, calling him an “agent” of the Central government and accusing him of being callous to those affected by the ban on iron ore mining in Goa.

Lobbyists seeking revocation of the ban on iron ore mining in the state spoke to reporters after Wanchoo “snubbed” the pro-mining lobby protesters who have been camping near the Martyrs’ Memorial here for the last two weeks.

On Wednesday morning, the Governor and other leading political dignitaries, including Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, arrived at the memorial in the capital to pay their tributes to Goa’s freedom fighters. However, the Governor returned to Raj Bhavan without speaking to protesters at the site.

“He did not have the courtesy to address us. We have been protesting here for the last two weeks. The Governor is not concerned about the sufferings of the people of his state,” Communist Party of India (CPI) state general secretary Christopher Fonseca told reporters here.

Fonseca heads the Goa Mining Affected People’s Front, which is protesting the loss of jobs caused by the Supreme Court-imposed mining ban. Fonseca also said that the Goa government was not taking convincing steps to resolve the mining crisis in the state.

“It has been four months since the ban has been in place. The government has not given a single convincing argument to the Supreme Court to ensure that the ban is removed,” Fonseca said.

Fonseca’s comments come only a couple of days after the Governor, in his inaugural address to the Goa Legislative Assembly, said that the Manohar Parrikar-led state government was working to introduce a financial package for people living in the mining belt, who had lost employment due to the mining ban.

The package involves giving out monthly dole to the tune of Rs 6,000 per head to those who have lost their mining jobs. The dole, however, has been criticised by the Opposition, which has said that instead of dishing out money, the state government should crack down on mining companies to ensure that workers are not laid off without any pressing reason.

SOURCE: IANS

 

Mopa Airport: Process begins for green signal to proposed airport at Mopa in Goa

PANAJI: The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has started the process of giving clearance to the proposed greenfield airport at Mopa in Goa, the state Assembly was informed today.

“The matter was discussed at the meeting of the Environment Ministry on January 28. There are further studies which are still required and they would be taken now,” Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told the Assembly.

Independent legislator Vijay Sardesai had raised the issue of environment clearance to the airport at Mopa, about 70 km from here.

The MLA, who heads the movement involving locals against the airport, claimed that various preconditions suggested by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) had been ignored by the Goa government which appears in a hurry to go ahead with the project.

“ICAO had suggested that a comprehensive strategy should be put in place before going ahead with the project as another airport already exists in the state,” Sardesai said.

The Chief Minister, quoting an ICAO report published in 2007, said there was a need to have two airports in Goa as the existing one at Dabolim would get saturated due to increasing flow of passenger traffic in the tourist state.

Parrikar rejected the notion that Mopa airport would benefit Maharashtra, more than Goa, due to its close proximity with the neighbouring state.

“The airport is 25 kms away from Maharashtra border,” he said and requested the Assembly Speaker to allow half an hour debate on the issue so that “Goa Government’s stand on the issue can be clarified”.

SOURCE: THE ECONOMIC TIMES

A carnival sans fish in Goa?

 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) 

I still feel that Goa needs a new regional party: Vijai Sardesai

TNN | Jan 26, 2013, 03.41 AM IST

The timing of the launch of ‘Goemkar’ has raised eyebrows in political circles, particularly because it comes ahead of the Lok Sabha elections…

The (timing of) fast-tracking of the Mopa airportis not my fault. What triggered the launch of ‘Goemkar’ was the government’s distinct action of strangulating Dabolim-by de-notifying the land acquisition for parking, by not providing alternative land for parking, and simultaneously fast-tracking Mopa. The state government by this action has provided me the trigger for the launch of ‘Goemkar’. It is because the rest of the political class is silent that you may be suspicious about my moves. But the raison d’etre for ‘Goemkar’ is that Goans have lost their voice and ‘Goemkar’, which is purely a social forum, will provide them with the voice to fight for social causes.

If Goemkar is purely a social forum, what was the need to form a new organization as you already head a couple of social forums like ‘We for Fatorda’ and the more recent, ‘Sangatan’?

‘Sangatan’ is a concept of governance by taking people into confidence in the running of the affairs of the government. It’s a Goan equivalent of Delhi CM’s concept of ‘Bhagidari’, and not an organization.

While five independent MLAs came together at the launch of ‘Sangatan’, the same picture was missing at the launch of ‘Goemkar’…

The presence of the MLAs at the meeting was neither essential nor expected as ‘Goemkar’ does not believe in dethroning the government. But the very fact that people were there in large numbers, especially from South Goa, goes to show wider acceptability of ‘Goemkar’. In fact, there were many potential political aspirants at the meeting from several constituencies.

So does this mean that ‘Goemkar’ looks at providing a platform for such political aspirants and perhaps a political alternative to the electorate?

Let me tell you that ‘Goemkar’ is a social forum with no political ambitions, but will fight for the cause of Goa and Goans. While as a legislator I will fight in the assembly, ‘Goemkar’ will fight on the streets.

So are you saying that ‘Goemkar’ is and will always remain apolitical and will never be converted into a regional outfit?

Yes, I unequivocally say so.

But you have been advocating the need for a strong regional party. Doesn’t ‘Goemkar’ fit the bill as a means to achieve that end?

I still feel that Goa nee ds a (new) regional party. I don’t know if I can start a regional party as I don’t have the resources. There’s a need to create a process where decisions are taken in Goa and not in Delhi. There’s a high disconnect between the high command and the local decision makers in Goa. Though I clearly state that ‘Goemkar’ is an apolitical forum, I am not an astrologer to predict which regional party will be born in Goa, and I do not want to attract the provisions of the anti-defection law. But the fact remains that the electorate of Goa are disillusioned with the frequent U-turns of the government despite giving this government an unprecedented mandate. They are not in a mood to condone the Congress either which with its local inherent contradictions has destroyed the sympathy that the Goans had had for this oldest political party.

The anti-Mopa issue has also been the plank of the existing regional parties. Will ‘Goemkar’ consider offering its support to any of the existing regional parties to give birth to a new outfit?

Individuals will have to clearly stand by the issues that have led to the birth of ‘Goemkar’. It’s because of the fact that all the regional parties have gone underground that ‘Goemkar’ has evoked a good response. The regional parties only emerge on the eve of elections. ‘Goemkar’ has no vested interests as it has no political motives.

What do you have to say to your critics that as there were a large number of Churchill (Alemao)-supporters at your meeting at Lohia Maidan, ‘Goemkar’ is just a front for furthering Churchill’s political interests?

I have already been elected by defeating the BJP in Fatorda constituency. I don’t require anybody’s clutches to get elected. If I want to, I can create a new political space and newer alternatives will always emerge. But ‘Goemkar’ is not a proxy for any political party. For that matter, I also criticize the Congress party for its acts of omission and commission. The present government is inheriting some of the Congress scams, the Dabolim parking land scam for instance, and the inaction of the present government lends itself as a target for attack. I sincerely believe that the closure of the Dabolim airport will spell doom for Goa’s tourism industry and any party which perpetuates this should be held responsible for displacing the tourism economy of the state.

SOURCE: THE TIMES OF INDIA

Policeman arrested for molesting woman in Mapusa in North Goa

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

Goa to host first beach tourney

India will hold its first professional beach soccer championship in Goa next month, organizers Beach Soccer Worldwide said on Monday. The Goa Football Association and the Goa Football Development Council are backing the event, which will become a bi-annual feature in India and will see the participation of players from Goa’s popular football clubs and other prominent teams from around the country.

The first edition of the tournament will be held February 7 to 10 in accordance with rules laid out by BSWW.

Teams will comprise of 10 players each — five on field and five as substitutes.
The duration of play will include three periods of 12 minutes each, with a break of three minutes. In case of a tie at the end of regular time, there will be a three-minute extra time, before the penalty shootout. The tournament will see teams battle it out for a prize of `2 lakhs and a trophy as a first step towards building a strong and scalable talent pool for the sport. In all, close to 50 teams from across the country are expected to participate, organizers said.

SOURCE: THE ASIAN AGE

South Goa to have social welfare department

PANAJI: In a move that will bring relief to the people from South Goa, the Department of Social Welfare is likely to open an office in South Goa soon.

The fully functional office is likely to be located in the new South Goa collectorate building and is expected to open in less than a month. It will be beneficial for people from remote areas such as Canacona and Neturlim who otherwise had to travel all the way to the department’s Panaji office to apply for various welfare schemes of the government.

Welcoming the move to set up an office in South Goa, Avelino de Sa, president of Disability Rights Association of Goa told TOI “It is very nice that the office will be opened in South Goa. We are very happy.”

He said DRAG had been demanding for an office in South Goa for more than four years now.

SOURCE:  TIMES OF INDIA

Goa IGP Sanjay Singh transferred for lending official car to foreign woman

PANAJI: The Union home ministry has issued the transfer order of Goa inspector general of police Sanjay Singh following a request from the state government to remove him from the post. The state government was upset with Singh’s behaviour and disregard for the post he was holding.

Sources said Singh had given his official car to a foreign woman national to drive it around and a photograph of her driving the car was posted on a social networking site. Traffic police had also stopped her driving the car. Chief minister Manohar Parrikar has asked the anti-corruption branch of the vigilance department to investigate the case.

“The state government has verbally received the communication from the Union home ministry of the transfer of the IGP. The letter is expected to reach within the next two days,” sources in the government said.

Parrikar was reportedly upset with the IGP for frequently attending parties and for suppressing the shooting incident at a club in Morjim on New Year’s Eve. The IGP was said to be present at the party at the time of the incident.

The sources said the chief minister had informed the Central government that if the MHA didn’t act on the request of the state government to transfer Singh out of Goa, the state government would relieve Singh from the post.

SOURCE:  TIMES OF INDIA