NO  OPPOSITION

DESPITE the massive rallies against double tracking of the South Western Railway and the 400 MW Mollem substation, the BJP proved that it still enjoys the confidence of the majority of Goans living in the villages. In the Zilla Parishad elections held Saturday, December 12 the BJP won 33 of the 49 ZP seats in South and North Goa. Independents mostly supported by the BJP won five seats while the Aam Aadmi party’s Hazel Fernandes won the Benaulim seat. The Congress which won 17 of the 40 seats in the Legislative Assembly in 2017 could win only four of the 49 ZP seats.

What is interesting to note is that even in  Guirdolim and Davorlim where there were huge protests against the double tracking — it is the BJP candidates who won.

RESTORING HAIR

NO LONGER are they doing painful surgery whereby individual strands of hair are transplanted in the bald patches. This was the only option till recently for those seeking to recover their lost hair.  The latest development is the use of serum imported from South Korea which automatically regenerates hair. This technology has been imported and is made available by the Batra group which has  pioneered trichology.

2021 JEE MAIN

THE entrance exam for the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology will be held in four cycles from February to May and the results announced in four to five days to give candidates an opportunity to apply for the next test. This has been introduced as HSSC board has not yet conducted its exams and it is not known when they will do so.

FACEBOOK BIAS

FACEBOOK has reportedly refused to classify the Bajrang Dal and associate organisations of the RSS as dangerous organisations. Bajrang Dal has been responsible for triggering several communal riots in the country and physical attacks on members of rival political parties. The head of the Facebook organisation in India has openly admitted that posts which are against the BJP are blocked by them. Facebook has been accused of interfering in the internal affairs of several countries including the US, UK and several European countries.

CHENNAI JOB BOOM

OLA Which is the biggest international company manufacturing electric scooters is investing Rs2,354 crore to create 2,200 jobs in Hosur in Tamil Nadu. This will be a substitute for the Honda factory in Gujarat which makes 1.2 million petrol powered scooters. Both petrol and diesel cars and two wheelers will be faced out by 2024-2025.

ATTACK ON APPLE

APPARENTLY, Apple, the producer of the most highly prices i-phone will not be able to get away with paying low wages for its highly priced phones in India. Till recently i-phone was being manufactured in China where their employees were getting wages of less than a dollar a day. Apple shifted one of its major i-phone facilities to Kolar, 70 km from Bangalore. The workers of the i-phone factory near Bengaluru went on a rampage on Saturday last, alleging non-payment of wages. The violence is estimated to cost a loss of Rs437 crore following damage to equipment, stealing of i-phones and laptops.

GOA IIT VANDALISED                   

THE four hostels of the Goa IIT which were converted by the government into a Covid-19 facility were in for a shock when the Covid-19 patients departed. Students of the hostels found many of their valuables including laptops and i-phones missing.

JIO IDEA WAR

DHIRUBHAI Ambani’s JIO has been challenged by his rivals Airtel and the Vodaphone Idea combine. Both Bharatiya Airtel, Vodaphone Idea are offering 4G data at much cheaper prices than Jio. This is political justice as Airtel and Vodaphone and Idea had to suffer huge losses when Jio entered the data market with rock bottom prices.

BEEF SHORTAGE

FOLLOWING the passage of the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter & Prevention of Cattle Bill veterinarians have stopped certification of meat and cattle. This is a requirement for the export of beef to the neighbouring state of Goa. The bill has made the transportation of cattle for slaughter outside the Karnataka illegal. And the last supply of beef from Karnataka took place last Thursday. Since then there have been no supplies, leaving cold storages empty. Beef is the most popular meat consumed by the minority Catholic and Muslim community in Goa as it is much cheaper than goat and chicken meat.