GOANS BARRED
IN an ironic reversal Maharashtra has made it compulsory for visitors from Goa to have a negative PCR certificate. As Vishwajeet Rane has joked half of Mumbai and Delhi are in Goa. It is the tourists who will have trouble going back to their own state. While the Covid-19 figures have been falling steadily in Goa there is a second wave in Mumbai, Delhi, Rajasthan and Gujarat. With a total of 678 deaths in contrast in Goa there was not a single death on Monday. However, the number of tests conducted have fallen sharply to just 1,500 in the north, Panjim and Porvorim head the list at 87 and 78. In south Goa it is Margao with 93 and Ponda with 82 which have the highest number of infections. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has directed the authority to do thermal screening at the airport and railway station.
OXFORD VACCINE
THE Oxford vaccine will be priced between Rs220 and Rs300 for government and Rs500 and Rs600 for private hospitals. The vaccine is expected to be available by the end of the year and has shown 70% effectiveness in preventing the infection. The primary efficacy standards set by the Drugs Control Authority is 50% effectiveness. Oxford currently stocks around four crore doses and will have ten crore doses by January.
WOMEN’S HELP-LINE
THE State government has set up a special helpline to prevent the increasing number of crimes against women. Women who feel threatened need only dial on WhatsApp 7875756177. Do check it out and let us know!
IITJEE
THE joint entrance exam for the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has been postponed to the end of February instead of January. The application process will start in December 2020. Even board exams are expected to be postponed with CBSC exam will now schedule for March 2021.
VACCINE TOURISM
SOME travel agencies have introduced vaccine tourism. Those who cannot wait for a vaccine to arrive in Goa can fly to the US for a four-day stay at a cost of Rs1.75 lakh. The return fair includes the cost of the vaccine which will be administered as soon as the Pfizer vaccine is given the green signal by the US drug authorities.
HAND OF GOD
THE most adored footballer Maradona died on Wednesday, November 25, 2020, due to multiple organ failure. Maradona became controversial when during the world cup final between Argentina and England. The superstar is suspected to have used his hand to push the ball in with the net. When asked about the goal which sealed England’s fate Maradona referred to it as “the hand of God!”
TROUBLE-SHOOTER
AHMED Patel who was the closest confidant of the Gandhi family died on Wednesday, November 25, 2020. Ahmed Patel was the man who ran the UPA government and the trouble-shooter of the Congress party. He was also its biggest fundraiser. A Bohri Muslim from Gujarat, he was the senior most Congress leader who survived four prime ministers.
SELF-EMPLOYMENT
DEGREE and diploma holders can now apply for PWD contracts for filling of potholes and other small contracts up to Rs10 lakh. The EDC has been instructed to provide unemployed engineering graduates and diploma-holders finance to execute the allotted works. The objective is to provide hands on experience to civil electrical and mechanic engineering graduates and undergraduates in tender preparation submission and execution. The work will be awarded on a limited tender basis.
GMC NOW OPEN
CITIZENS now no longer need to fix an appointment with a consultant at the Goa Medical College & Hospital they have a serious problem. The GMC has withdrawn the condition that appointments will be needed to meet consultants. Regular OPDs have resumed without prior appointment.
FAREWELL DADU MANDREKAR
ALONG with many others, Dakshinayan Abhiyan’s President Damodar Mauzo and members of the Margao-based literary fraternity have expressed profound grief over the sad and sudden death of Dadu Mandrekar. The much respected Dalit writer converted to Buddhism along with hundreds of his colleagues, undoubtedly inspired by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s life and times. It may be remembered that Ambedkar had converted to Buddhism in 1956. Mandrekar was a social activist, poet and author.
He has to his credit a biography of Dr Babsaheb Ambedkar which throws light on unknown aspects of the `Father of the Indian Constitution.’ Dadu’s poetry collection `Shapit Surya’ and `Anthology of Essays: Bahishkrut Gomantak’ were both well received by readers.
Needless to say Dadu staunchly supported equality, liberty, justice and fraternity and the principles enshrined in them as in the Constitution of India. Coincidentally Dadu Mandrekar passed away on the day the nation was celebrating Constitution Day on November 26, 2020!