Goa India beaches are amongst world’s best tourism destinations to enjoy your holidays. Goa Blog brings to you updates on Goa News, Photos, Parties, Hotels and Resorts, Goa’s Art and Culture and Politics.
Padma Bhushan awardee and Jnanpith award winner Girish Karnad Monday called “Slumdog Millionaire” the worst film he has ever seen.
Karnad, a towering, multi-faceted creative personality in the field of theatre, literature, acting and academics, was speaking at a lecture on ‘Colonialism and Culture’ at the D.D. Kosambi lecture series, organised by the government of Goa in Panaji.
“I have never seen anything worse than ‘Slumdog Millionaire’,” Karnad said during a question-answer session which followed his lecture.
He also said the movie had completely failed in India. India’s hunger for Oscars showed “our own inferiority complex”, he added.
“I don’t know why we are obsessed with the Oscars or the Grammy (Grammy awards),” Karnad said, adding that the Indian film industry was perfectly healthy in every sense of the word.
Released in 2008, Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” swept the 81st Academy Awards by winning eight Oscars. Out of the eight awards, three were won by Indian artistes - Resul Pookutty, A.R. Rehman and Gulzar.
India would play host for the first time to an international turtle conference. The 30th annual turtle symposium – “The World of Turtles” is coming to Goa in 2010 and it is for the first time that the symposium is coming to the South Asian region. The conference would be held from April 27-29.
This event is being jointly hosted and organized by sea turtle conservation groups and research organizations as well as institutions that work on marine environment issues across India and South Asia. Based on previous annual symposia of the ISTS, the organisors are expecting up to 700 participants, from as many as 50 countries across the world. The ISTS annual symposium is truly unique, drawing an enormous number and diversity of people interested in these intriguing animals and their habitats.
“Sea turtles inhabit the land and the sea. They connect the shallow nearshore waters to the open sea, cold temperate to warm tropical waters. They migrate across ocean basins. And through several thousands of years, they have connected us ecologically and culturally to the sea. The thirtieth annual symposium on sea turtle biology and conservation will seek to explore these connections and focus on the world they live in. The world of coral reefs, seagrass meadows, open seas and sandy beaches. The world of people, living and working on the coast or at sea; of fishing cultures and livelihoods. All connected by sea turtles and by us,” the organizers said.
Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa successfully convinced his Goa counterpart Digambar Kamath to agree to a dialogue on sharing Mahadayi river water. He had a discussion with Kamath in the presence of Gujarath CM Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Sunday on the sidelines a national level meeting of CMs on internal security convened by the Prime Minister. In a press release, Yeddyurappa expressed his confidence that the Mahadayi issue would be resolved soon following the present development.
He added that he would be writing a formal letter inviting the Goa CM to come for a bilateral talk on sharing Mahadayi river water. He reportedly explained to Kamath that the Kalasa Banduri project aimed at utilising hardly 7.5 TMC ft out of its share of 45 TMC ft of water for drinking purpose in the villages around Hubli- Dharwad. Presently 220 TMCft of water is being wasted in Mahadayi River.
“Since Kalasa Banduri is a drinking water project, it is unnecessary to refer the case to the court or creating a controversy. Let us forget political differences in sharing natural resources for a public cause,” Yeddyurappa told Digambar Kamath.
The investigations into Goa’s tiger poaching case got a boost with forensic report confirming that the remains collected from a plantation were of a striped cat. Chief Conservator of Forest Dr Shashi Kumar told reporters that Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has confirmed that the sample matches to that of a tiger. “One of the seven samples has matched. Seven samples were found of which the sixth one matched to that of a tiger. Even if one matches it proves that the animal is a tiger,” he said.
The state forest department, which received the report two weeks back, had maintained uncanny silence over it until a local English newspaper leaked the report last week. The final report which was received by deputy conservator of forest (North division) G T Kumar has overruled the preliminary report, which had raised doubts on whether the animal remains found in a cashew plantation of Keri village were really of tiger.
Environmentalists in the state had protested the WII’s first report which had said that the samples did not match to that of a tiger.
Expressing “grave” concern over intelligence reports that Goa is on the radar of terrorists in view of increasing tourists from Western European countries, US and Israel, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat today said the state has taken steps for security of visitors. Kamat, who was speaking at the CMs conference on internal security, said police have been sensitised to provide proper security to both domestic and foreign tourists.
He also sought sanction of a special scheme for Goa Police to enable procurement of requisite equipment, vehicles and weaponry to set up a Central Police Control Room in Panaji. “Goa is a small state and does not have the resources to finance the above proposed measures.
Goa government should engage the services of professional valuers for the purpose of doing valuation of land proposed to be acquired in public purpose, said Mr Shantaram Naik at Margao on Sunday. Mr Naik who was the Chief Guest at a bio-monthly seminar on valuation organized by Goa Branch of the Valuers’ Institution of India said that if valuation of land proposed to be acquired by the government is done by professional valuers the land owners will be able to get a better price for their land ,and in some cases, there may not be a need to challenge Deputy Collectors’s awards.
Mr Naik said that value of any sale deed executed with respect to a plot of land nearby the property proposed to be acquired cannot be the sole criteria for the assessment , and that, several other factors such as proximity to public amenities, future use of the land on account of the developmental plans of the government etc. must be weighed with equal consideration. Mr Naik said there must be a law to regulate the profession of valuers just as many other professions which are covered under some legislations or the other but Mr Naik added that such a legislation need not lay down any new parameters of valuation but they may basically remain the same which are being conventionally followed by the valuers with modified approach as per the situation.
Mr Naik said physical valuation of a property is a must and that the institutions which engage valuers will get better results if local valuers are engaged ,who are acquainted with the topography of the land and who have a study of ground situation. Mr Naik said that valuation of damage caused by nature’s fury like floods, earthquakes, draughts, environmental tragedies should be assessed in a more scientific and realistic manners, for which also, services of valuers can be engaged instead of relying on talathi’s assessment who are not trained in the matter.
Mr Naik said mergers and acquisitions which take place in the country have given an added scope to the profession of valuers. At the outset President of Goa Branch of the Institute of valuers Shri Mahendra Caculo welcomed Mr Naik. Engineer Shri Earnest Muniz introduced Mr Naik which Secretary Shri Vincent Gracias proposed the vote of thanks.
senior Goa tourism official’s remarks to a Delhi-based newspaper over the rape of a nine-year-old Russian girl on Republic Day has triggered a debate on popular social networking website Facebook.
‘The Blank Noise project’ (TBNP), a popular community-public art project which seeks to confront street harassment, has written an open letter to Pamela Mascarenhas, a deputy director in the state tourism department, on its home page on Facebook criticising her for comments to the Mail Today, a tabloid, last week.
“You can’t blame the locals; they have never seen such women. Foreign tourists must maintain a certain degree of modesty in their clothing. Walking on the beaches half-naked is bound to titillate the senses,” Mascarenhas had reportedly told the tabloid.
TBNP’s letter, which is signed by “an Indian girl who loves her saris and her hot pants”, argues that dress sense was not a factor when it comes to sexual assault.
“For your information, women from across age groups, be it three-month-old babies or 90-year-olds have been raped. They have been raped in saris, burkhas, salwar kameez, school uniforms, bikinis, jeans, skirts, shirts, lungis. Women have been molested, assaulted, raped at all times of the day, and in public places,” theletter, which has been subsequently doing the rounds on nearly all Goa-related mailing lists, states.
The stinging letter also accused Mascarenhas of exonerating the perpetrators of sexual crimes and instead heaping the blame on the victim.
“By making the statement above, you are blaming women instead of taking responsibility of the issue. We hope this will direct you towards taking responsibility of these incidents by actually addressing male behaviour and men in Goa, for which you will first have to address yourself by accepting this truth,” it states, adding that cultural inappropriateness was no excuse for sexual assaults.
‘The Letter to deputy director of tourism’ project, which was posted Feb 3 and will be open for comments until March 31, has already attracted several comments from internet surfers.
“I can’t believe that they can blame a nine-year old girl for being ‘too sexy’. I mean, it is horrible enough to blame a women for ‘asking for it’ by dress, which is already totally bull-crap, but to blame a nine-year-old girl?” Lindsey Rieder, from Syracuse, US has commented.
Mascarenhas, when contacted, said she was not willing to comment on the controversy, adding that she was misquoted by the newspaper.
State tourism minister Mickky Pacheco said it was impossible to insist that foreigners not wear bikinis on Goan beaches. “Goa is a popular tourist destination and is a window to the West. We cannot ask tourists not to wear bikinis here,” Pacheco said.
The state tourism department has announced that it would withdraw photographs of women in bikinis from Goa’s tourism promotion campaign.
While Chief Minister Digambar Kamat left for Delhi on an official trip, Goa’s political scenario will be discussed at the high command level during his stay there, sources said. This is because dissidents in the ruling camp are in touch with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the sources added.
Ten days ago, All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary in-charge of Goa desk B K Hariprasad had meet Congress legislators and even some non-Congress ministers in the cabinet over the simmering disenchantment in the ruling faction. The Goa BJP may not have got the sanction from their high command to join any new dispensation that may arise in the event of any major problems in the Congress but some of their local leaders are learnt to have discussed the prevailing situation with some dissident leaders. Outgoing president and North Goa member of parliament (MP) Shripad Naik had firmly said ‘No’ to any permutations and combinations. But with Laxmikant Parsekar in the seat, things may not be the same, sources said.
Analysts say the BJP obviously is trying to ensure that there is a split in the Congress legislature wing in Goa as it happened in 1999 so that it can capitalize on it further. The veiled threat given by a couple of legislators that they would not hesitate to quit the party if their demand of change of leadership is not acceded to, has put the high command on the defensive.
Hariprasad has submitted his report on Goa politics and the dissidents are eagerly awaiting for a reply from the high command. The dissidents are propping Public Works Department Minister Churchill Alemao as the new leader of CLP with Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane as the deputy, sources said.
Former Lieutenant Governor of Goa S K Banerji passed away this morning. He was 97.
Banerji, who was a 1937 batch civil services officer had a distinguished career as a diplomat. He was the head of the Indian consulate in San Fransisco and also served in embassies in Malaysia, Germany and Japan.
He retired from the Indian Foreign Service in 1972 as Secretary and thereafter served as Lt Governor of Goa from 1972-77.
Banerji is credited for having contributed significantly to the development of Goa as a major tourist destination.
Goa Forest department has maintained an uncanny silence over a Wildlife Institute of India’s (WII) report which confirmed that a tiger was killed in the state last year. Highly placed sources said that the report reached the office of deputy conservator of forest G T Kumar two weeks back. Kumar, however, talking to PTI said that “he cannot reveal anything from the report.”
The tiger was poached in Keri village, 60 kms away from here, in February last year. State Forest Minister Philip Nery Rodrigues said that chief conservator of forest Dr Shashi Kumar, who is currently out of station, has telephonically confirmed receipt of the report. “Government will get the detailed report from the department and only after that it will comment,” Rodrigues said. The minister said that the future course of action will depend on the report.
