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Goa: Cong, BJP reach out to mining lobby ahead of polls

January 28, 2012 – 8:54 pm

And suddenly illegal mining no longer seems to be a major poll issue in Goa! The mega illegal mining scam, which had rocked the state for over two years, has suddenly disappeared from political consciousness in Goa, which goes to the polls to elect a new government on March 3. Both the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which shrilly took up the scam mantra, and the ruling Congress, at the receiving end of the accusation, have this fortnight welcomed into their respective folds those allegedly involved in the mining illegalities or are at least sympathetic towards the malaise.Former national secretary of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Jitendra Deshprabhu was welcomed into the Congress on Jan 16 by state Congress president Subhash Shirodkar. Deshprabhu had been arrested for illegal mining of iron ore on Aug 4 last year and released on bail subsequently.Admitting Deshprabhu into the Congress fold, Shirodkar said the party high command in Delhi had agreed to the tainted leader’s inclusion in the party and that the state unit had nothing to do with it. “The high command has taken all that into consideration before inducting him in,” he said, adding that law would be allowed to take its course in the illegal mining case.

Deshprabhu had been arrested after the state government’s mining and geology department complained that the former NCP leader owed the Goa government Rs.1.7 crore for the illegal excavation of bauxite. Deshprabhu is now hoping for a Congress ticket to the Porvorim assembly seat, which was newly created post delimitation.If the Congress – whose leaders, including Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, have been on the receiving end of the illegal mining allegations – is complicit, aggressor BJP has suddenly and conspicuously lowered its “anti illegal mining” chorus as election campaigning gears up.In fact, the BJP in the last one week has gone a step ahead and inducted two local strongmen, both of whom are heavily linked to the mining lobby. One of them, Nilesh Cabral, who is setting himself up for the BJP ticket in the Curchorem constituency, a mining hub in south Goa, 50 km from here, even admitted that there was nothing wrong in “harvesting” existing mountainous dumps of mining ore. This was specifically banned by both the union ministry for mines as well as the Goa government.”I don’t see what the problem is in moving dumps. Dumps are an eyesore. We are only moving them. Removing dumps is not illegal. In fact we are doing a good thing,” said Cabral, during his induction into the BJP.Last year, the Goa government had started reinforcing a ban on harvesting of existing mining ore dumps after a probe revealed that a huge chunk of Goa’s illegal exported ore was sourced from such dumps, scattered across the state’s mining areas, and were harvested illegally by iron ore contractors.Cabral, who also owns mining river barges as well as a fleet of heavy trucks for ore transportation, said he was a mining engineer, who “naturally” entered the mining industry. “I am a mining engineer I went into mining. Civil engineers go into construction,” he said.On Wednesday (Jan 25), the BJP also welcomed Ganesh Gaonkar, a heavyweight in mining ore transportation. Asked if the party’s fight against illegal mining was on, in light of two mining contractors into the party fold, state BJP president Laxmikant Parsenkar said: “We are very clear. We are against illegal mining. But we support mining that is legitimately done.”

Courtesy : TOI

By Goa Blog | Posted in Elections Goa, Eminent Journalists' Articles, Environment of Goa, Goa crime, Goa Government, Goa News, Goa's Politics, In Goa | Comments (0)

Liquor curbs ahead of polls affecting Goa’s casinos

January 27, 2012 – 9:47 pm

Protesting the curbs on selling and serving liquor imposed in view of the state assembly elections March 3, Casino Pride’s promoter Shrinivas Nayak speaking for the casino industry asked the state authorities to reconsider their move.
Addressing media persons here, Nayak pointed out that election candidates could not “afford to sponsor” expensive drinks at casinos for their workers, clearly implying that fears of “drink for votes” malpractice were misplaced.
He urged the poll authorities to reconsider the ban when it came to casino operations and five-star hotels in the state.
“Some 95 percent of our business is from tourists who come to Goa for its night life and enjoyment. With this decision, tourists are getting upset and are cancelling their bookings,” Nayak said.
Nayak said a representation was made by the casino lobby to chief secretary Sanjiv Srivastava Friday.
Tourism and travel organisations in Goa have already expressed their dissatisfaction at the decision.
“We have said that candidates cannot afford to entertain their voters in casinos as there is a Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 entry fee to onshore and offshore casinos respectively,” Nayak said.
“We have already received a lot of cancellations. Our footfalls have come down by 70 percent in just two days after the order was issued,” said Anil Melvani, an official of Casino Royale, another offshore casino.
“Keeping in mind the potential losses to the casino industry in particular and tourism industry in general, we have requested the authorities to relax the ban in case of casinos and five star hotels,” he said.
In a circular issued earlier this week, district returning officer and north Goa district magistrate Mihir Vardhan had imposed restrictions on sale of liquor beyond 11 pm till Feb 5. From Feb 5 to March 6, the ban shrinks from 11 pm to 10 pm.

Courtesy : IBN

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Goa casinos deny possibility of being used as fronts

January 27, 2012 – 8:19 pm

The casino operators in Goa today refuted the suggestion that casinos could be acting as fronts for money-laundering or for funding the terrorists. The operators, at a joint press conference here, said the annual report by Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Union Finance Ministry had been misquoted in this regard.

Shrinivas Nayak of Casino Pride said the trade had always been wary of dubious-looking transactions, and the authorities were kept in the loop about anything fishy. In the last one year, as many as 50 dubious transactions were reported to FIU by the casinos in Goa, he said. “FIU, in the annual report, has said that there are 8,000 financial transactions at various industries which were of suspicious nature,” he said. John Snowball, vice president (gaming and operation), Casino Crown, said casino would be the last place the people would turn to for money laundering or terror financing. “Everyone entering is under CCTV surveillance. Every transaction is recorded,” Snowball said. “There are guidelines which say that transaction above a certain limit needs to be reported to FIU. But that does not mean that the money is ill-gotten or being funded to terrorist organisation. Genuineness of the source of money is always found out by the authorities.” Nayak admitted that fake currency had been an issue at the casinos. “People are trying to push fake currency everywhere. It’s the problem of whole country,” he said. Staff was trained to prevent this, according to casino representatives. “There were instances where people tried to push in fake notes, but we caught them and handed them over to police,” Nayhak said. Goa has around 20 casinos at present.

Courtesy : IBN

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Issue of stalling Konkani News-Bulletin by EC will be raised in Rajya Sabha

January 26, 2012 – 9:14 pm

Konkanni news- bulletin which was to go on air from Panaji Station of Doordarshan on 26th January, could not take of on account of lack of clearance from Election Commission. Shantaram Naik M.P. who has been trying to see that the bulletin starts from the Panaji Station at the earliest, in a statement issued today, said that there was absolutely no need of EC clearance in this matter, as there was no ceremony planed for the commencement of the bulletin and no government minister or politician was to remain present in the studio for the purpose.

Naik said that the bulletin could commence like any other programe and added that if a private channel was to start a bulletin today, EC could not have prevented it. This bulletin , Mr Naik said , was to commence on 19th December 2011 to mark the Golden Jubilee of Goa’s liberation but because of some technical difficulties, it could not see the light of the day. Mr Naik said these technical difficulties persisted even till yesterday night , and that, he was successful in getting the clearance late night on 25th but, local Doordarshan officials at Panaji knowing the nature of interpretations being resorted by EC in recent days, thought it safe to seek NOC from the Chief Electoral Officer, who as usual has referred the matter to Delhi, thereby stalling the bulletin.

Naik said that it will be violation of freedom of expression if Doordarshan is denied permission to communicate with the people through their news bulleting on the eve of elections. It will also be violation of Code of Conduct on the part of election authorities themselves, applying their own interpretation of Code of Conduct, Mr Naik said. Mr Naik said that he is going to raise the issue of in the Rajya Sabha during the budget session and, further would move a Private Member’s bill to amend the Constitution to clarify that provisions of article 324 of the Constitution gives only limited powers to Election Commission.

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Goa BJP MP left sulking after being denied poll ticket

January 26, 2012 – 5:22 pm

BJP’s move to disallow party MP Sripad Naik from contesting the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state has not gone down well with the Parliamentarian, who is yet to decide on campaigning for the party.Naik said on Thursday that he is yet to decide on whether he would campaign for the party in Goa.”There is still time for campaigning. Let the list of candidates be declared. I will take my stand only after that,” he said.

North Goa MP Naik is one of the important members of the party and was considered as a Chief Ministerial candidate along with Manohar Parrikar.State party executive had recommended that he should contest Goa polls from Porvorim constituency. However, BJP’s Parliamentary committee, refused to allow Naik to participate in state politics.When quizzed over the issue, BJP Goa chief Laxmikant Parsekar refused to comment. “All questions are not supposed to be answered,” he said at a press conference yesterday.Assembly elections will be held in Goa on March 3.

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Two Goans get Padma recognition

January 26, 2012 – 5:15 pm

Two illustrious Goans-famed cartoonist Mario Miranda who passed away on December 11, 2011 and intellectual Jose Pereira-finally received recognition for their body of work as both were included in the list of Padma awardees on the eve of Republic Day on Wednesday.
Miranda, who was earlier awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2002 and Padma Shri in 1988, will posthumously be honoured with the Padma Vibhushan.
Pereira, who is based in the US, and is known for his wide range of interests and contributions as a historian, musicologist, theologian and orator, will be conferred with the Padma Bhushan.
The name of the famed cartoonist and illustrator was second in the list of five others, including K G Subramanyan (painting and sculpture), late Bhupen Hazarika (vocal music), Kantilal Hastimal Sancheti ( orthopedics) and TV Rajeswar ( civil service).
The name of Pereira, a former professor, who taught theology of world religions at Fordham University, USA, figured in the list of 27 awardees, including Shabana Azmi, Mira Nair and others. He has also published more than 20 books on theology, history of art, architecture, Goan culture, language, literature and music.

A multi-faceted personality, Pereira also carried out research, and he along with S B Kulkarni, a former head of department of Marathi, Nagpur University, have said that two lines of inscriptions at the foot of the huge statue of Bahubali at Sravanabelagola in Karnataka are the earliest Konkani inscriptions in Devnagri script.
Born in 1931, the reputed Sanskrit scholar and Indologist has written several books on theology, history, architecture, language and music. A fresco done by him can be seen on a vault of St Joaquim’s chapel at Borda while another painting was unveiled at Our lady of Rosary chapel, Fatorda.
The announcement of the awards drew happy reactions from a cross section of people.
Miranda’s widow, Habiba, apparently overwhelmed by emotion, was at a loss for words, when contacted by TOI for her comments. “What can I say? I am glad,” was all she said.
Majorda-based Damodar Mauzo, writer and Sahitya Akademi award winner said, “Mario deserved a state guard of honour when he died.” He, however, expressed satisfaction that Miranda’s services in the field of art have been taken cognizance of, though belatedly, by the Union government.
Agreed Kala Academy member secretary Pandurang Phaldesai. “We should be grateful to the government of India for honouring two Goans, who projected the good image of the state the world over,” he said.
Commending Miranda’s work, he said, “His brush almost single-handedly put Goa on the world map.”
Goa Chitra museum curator Victor Hugo Gomes said the Padma Vibhushan award conferred on Miranda posthumously sounds like an insurance policy-money after death. “It is sad that the centre had to recognize Mario’s greatness when the state government refrained from providing state mourning to one of Goa’s greatest and most illustrious sons,” he said.
Gomes felt that the state government could repair the damage of a missed state honour at his funeral by naming one of the centers they have been restoring after Miranda. He mentioned the old secretariat or the old GMC building. In addition, he suggested that the government institute scholarships/awards for students of Goa Art College and have a series of annual lectures in Miranda’s memory.
Regarding prize money, if any, Gomes suggested that it be equally divided among the art and culture minister, director and the other MLAs so that they become sensitized towards art and culture, Gomes said.
Regarding Pereira, Mauzo said, “The Padma Bhushan to Jose Pereira is a most deserving tribute to his multi-faceted personality. He was a musicologist, theologist and a polymath scholar who gave immense services to Konkani music, language and literature.”
Phaldesai praised Pereira for his large body of work, which included dedicated research in Konkani. “People like Pereira make us realize how small we are. He learnt Sanskrit and Devanagri script and did research in Konkani and there are very few people like him,” he said.
Engineer and writer Jose Lourenco said the award to Pereira, which was long overdue, was on the merit of his great accomplishments in the fields of theology, art, architecture and music.
“His paintings and murals portrayed elements of Goan lifestyle. His contribution to Konkani is immense; he has written several books on Goan folksongs, including mandos, dulpods and bhaktigitam (devotional songs). As a historian, his research was passionate and very methodical. He was one of the greatest polymaths and I consider him the Leonardo di Vinci of Goa,” he said.

Courtesy : TOI

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Two Goans get Padma recognition

January 26, 2012 – 9:44 am

The name of the famed cartoonist and illustrator was second in the list of five others, including K G Subramanyan (painting and sculpture), late Bhupen Hazarika (vocal music), Kantilal Hastimal Sancheti ( orthopedics) and TV Rajeswar ( civil service).
The name of Pereira, a former professor, who taught theology of world religions at Fordham University, USA, figured in the list of 27 awardees, including Shabana Azmi, Mira Nair and others. He has also published more than 20 books on theology, history of art, architecture, Goan culture, language, literature and music.

The announcement of the awards drew happy reactions from a cross section of people. Miranda’s widow, Habiba, apparently overwhelmed by emotion, was at a loss for words, when contacted by TOI for her comments. “What can I say? I am glad,” was all she said. Majorda-based Damodar Mauzo, writer and Sahitya Akademi award winner said, “Mario deserved a state guard of honour when he died.” He, however, expressed satisfaction that Miranda’s services in the field of art have been taken cognizance of, though belatedly, by the Union government.

Agreed Kala Academy member secretary Pandurang Phaldesai. “We should be grateful to the government of India for honouring two Goans, who projected the good image of the state the world over,” he said. Commending Miranda’s work, he said, “His brush almost single-handedly put Goa on the world map.”

Goa Chitra museum curator Victor Hugo Gomes said the Padma Vibhushan award conferred on Miranda posthumously sounds like an insurance policy-money after death. “It is sad that the centre had to recognize Mario’s greatness when the state government refrained from providing state mourning to one of Goa’s greatest and most illustrious sons,” he said.

Gomes felt that the state government could repair the damage of a missed state honour at his funeral by naming one of the centers they have been restoring after Miranda. He mentioned the old secretariat or the old GMC building. In addition, he suggested that the government institute scholarships/awards for students of Goa Art College and have a series of annual lectures in Miranda’s memory.
Regarding prize money, if any, Gomes suggested that it be equally divided among the art and culture minister, director and the other MLAs so that they become sensitized towards art and culture, Gomes said. Regarding Pereira, Mauzo said, “The Padma Bhushan to Jose Pereira is a most deserving tribute to his multi-faceted personality. He was a musicologist, theologist and a polymath scholar who gave immense services to Konkani music, language and literature.” Phaldesai praised Pereira for his large body of work, which included dedicated research in Konkani. “People like Pereira make us realize how small we are. He learnt Sanskrit and Devanagri script and did research in Konkani and there are very few people like him,” he said.

Engineer and writer Jose Lourenco said the award to Pereira, which was long overdue, was on the merit of his great accomplishments in the fields of theology, art, architecture and music. ”His paintings and murals portrayed elements of Goan lifestyle. His contribution to Konkani is immense; he has written several books on Goan folksongs, including mandos, dulpods and bhaktigitam (devotional songs). As a historian, his research was passionate and very methodical. He was one of the greatest polymaths and I consider him the Leonardo di Vinci of Goa,” he said.

Courtesy: TOI

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Goa elections: Parties vow ‘special status’ in manifestos

January 25, 2012 – 9:31 am

With the state assembly polls fast approaching, assurances and pledges from politicians and political parties on the coveted ‘special status’ and preservation of Goan land are coming thick and fast. Though none of the major parties have released their poll manifestos yet, Congress manifesto committee convener Ramakant Khalap said on Monday that assurances to ban the sale of agricultural land to non-Goans and non-farmers would figure prominently in the party manifesto. But on the specific issue of special status, he told TOI, “Special status under Article 371 is also there on the manifesto.” When asked to elaborate on whether the special status was similar to that enjoyed by northeastern states such as Nagaland, Khalap said, “It is basically a financial package for the state.”

Former MLA Matanhy Saldanha, convener of Goa’s Movement for Special Status, has been a proponent of a more comprehensive form of special status, despite doing little about it when he was state tourism minister in the BJP-led government. Now that he has joined the saffron party, TOI queried Saldanha on whether the party had agreed to his special status demand. “When I joined the BJP, I had put forth the point on special status, and they (party) approved it,” Saldanha said. ”Because I have joined a national party, people must not misunderstand that national parties are not fulfilling regional aspirations,” he added. ”Sixty per cent of the total population belong to scheduled castes and OBCs. They require special protection as their lands are taken away (through acquisitions). I will fight for special status till the last day of my life,” Saldanha emphasized.

State BJP president Laxmikant Parsekar told TOI that the BJP is likely to include the special status demand in its manifesto. He did not elaborate on the type of special status the party would support.

Though none of the major parties have released their poll manifestos yet, Congress manifesto committee convener Ramakant Khalap said that assurances to ban the sale of agricultural land to non-Goans and non-farmers would figure prominently in the party manifesto.

Goa Assembly Elections News

Courtesy: TOI

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Goafest 2012 opens its doors for creativity across South Asia

January 25, 2012 – 9:27 am

Goafest 2012 will be held on April 19-21 at the Zuri White Sands in South Goa. This will be the first time that the festival will receive entries from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.

At a press conference held at South Mumbai last evening, the Goafest Committee announced the highlights of Goafest 2012. The conference was addressed by Nagesh Alai, president, Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), Arvind Sharma, chairman, Goafest 2012, and Shashi Sinha, president, Advertising Club Bombay (ACB), and chairman, Awards Governing Council (an 11-member body formed jointly by the AAAI and ACB, to run the awards). The festival will be held on April 19-21 at the Zuri White Sands in South Goa. This year, the theme of the festival is ‘Magic of ideas’.

It was announced that this year, Goafest will be of relevance to all those in South Asia who are involved in creating ideas. For the first time, the festival is inviting countries across South Asia to participate as delegates and award entrants. These countries include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The authorities believe that this cross-fertilisation of creativity and ideas will benefit clients in particular, as well as the industry at large. All South Asian agencies will participate in the main awards show and there will also be a ‘The Best of Rest of South Asia’ award in each of the verticals, in case there are no winners from these countries.
“We have received a very positive response from countries in South Asia. We are looking forward to our road shows to promote the festival in these markets,” said Alai. The road shows — that will serve to introduce these nations to the concept of Goafest in terms of its scale and past speakers — are slated to start next month.

This year, the festival looks at strong client participation and senior clients are expected to be an integral part of the knowledge seminars. The Goafest Committee is also looking to attract young client delegates in large numbers. For this purpose, it is offering a special package for under-30 marketers. ”We’re confident that well over 50 major client organisations will take part in the festival this year,” said an enthusiastic Sharma. The authorities have been working with the ISA (Indian Society of Advertisers) to popularise this package.

Specialist areas such as out of home (OOH), ambient, design, interactive digital advertising, direct, and integrated advertising have been growing in importance over the years. In fact, last year, over 140 agencies sent their awards entries (for the Abbies at Goafest 2011), and a large number of these were specialist agencies. In recognition of this phenomenon, this year, there will be a provision for the Grand Prix in all nine verticals. Last year, the Grand Prix was given only in film, print and radio verticals. The Grand Prix is also being introduced in the media awards.

This decision is expected to encourage more specialist agencies to come forward and enter their work in the show. “Abbies are open to all those who create ideas. They do not have to be AAAI or Ad Club members,” clarifies Sharma. In sync with its growing importance, Digital will find a prominent place at Goafest 2012. The Conclave will be held on April 19, while the digital awards will be held on April 20, along with media awards, design awards and direct awards. The creative awards will be held on April 21. Sharma promises that this time, Goafest itself will be “a lot more digital” than ever before.

Like last year, this year, too, the AAAI and ACB will work together to organise the event, making it the fifth time the two groups are doing so. “Last year’s awards were well-received by the industry. The Awards Governing Council will follow the same tight processes, with some fine tuning in 2012,” assures Sinha. In line with the overall festival theme, ‘Magic of ideas’, the Goafest 2012 Conclave is themed ‘Ideas for impacting the full circle’, and will cover areas such as consumers’ pre-purchase, during-purchase and post-purchase decisions. The conclave is aimed at helping the entire industry gear up for opportunities that lie ahead.
The festival will see the presence and participation of global leaders from major clients, as well as communication groups at the conclave.

Details regarding delegate and entry fees will be announced by the authorities shortly.

Courtesy: afaqs

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Goa Elections: BJP accuses MGP of ‘double standards’ for being with Congress

January 24, 2012 – 4:39 pm

Accusing the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) of “double standards”, state BJP today said that for a pre-poll alliance to happen, the MGP, which is sharing power with Congress, should first pull out of the government. “MGP should have withdrawn itself from the government as a pre-condition for the alliance. But it is still with Congress-led government. How can they continue with the enemy party, when they are negotiating with us for pre poll alliance,” BJP spokesman Govind Parvatkar said today. He said that the MGP is adopting “double standards” by initiating alliance talks with BJP and still sharing power with the Congress. BJP-MGP have initiated seat-sharing dialogues for the forthcoming Goa assembly polls, scheduled on March 3.

Clarifying that alliance is still on the cards, Parvatkar said that the MGP should make its stand clear on continuing with the Congress-led coalition. He said alliance with MGP was proposed, as people do not want division of votes, which will give edge to Congress party. “We will wait till January 26 for MGP to make their stand clear,” Parvatkar said. Reacting to the recent statement by Goa Congress chief Subhash Shirodkar that his party is contemplating the possibility of pre-poll talks with MGP, Parvatkar said, “MGP cannot remain silent to these statements.” MGP’s both the legislators have supported Digambar Kamat-led government in the state with one of the legislators? Ramakrishna Dhavalikar, enjoying a ministerial berth.

Courtesy: ibnlive