RELIEF FOR TOURISM

FINANCE Minister Nirmala Sitaraman has announced that travel agencies would be extended a loan of up to Rs10 lakh to compensate them for losses during the lockdown periods. It has also been decided to offer a loan of Rs1 lakh to the 10.7 lakh registered tourist guides.

Most importantly, from the point of view of the students on e-learning, Rs19,000 crore has been allotted for extending broad band to all the villages. The contract will probably go to Reliance which is launching their 5G services and going into the manufacture of affordable smartphones from September 2021.

HC BLASTS GOVERNMENT

THE Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court blasted the government for harassing An activist who exposed the dumping of raw sewage into water bodies by the Sewage Corporation in Panaji. The Bench comprising Justice MS Sonak and MS Jawalkar pulled up the government for filing criminal cases against the staff nurse from the Institute of Psychiatry & Human Behaviour(IPHB), who had exposed the  criminal act by the Sewage Corporation. Do not hound the messenger but take steps to see the problem is solved, the Bench directed the government.

EVER HEARD OF CHORIOCARCINOMA?

IN medical history of sorts comes news that Dr Deepti Pinto do Rosario operated on a 40-year-old lady suffering from acute abdominal pain and removed a tumour from her small intestine. This is a unique operation as this condition occurs only in 0.001% of pregnancies.

According to the doctor this was a rare kind of cancer called choriocarcinoma, a fast-growing tumor that forms when cells that were part of the forming placenta in a normal pregnancy turn cancerous. This can happen after a miscarriage, an ectopic pregnancy, an abortion, a molar pregnancy (when the pregnancy forms into a mass of multiple tiny cyst like structures instead of a baby), but rarely after a full-term normal pregnancy.

There are very few choriocarcinomas developing outside pregnancy. It can rarely occur in men as well. Choriocarcinoma itself is rarely seen, occurring in 9.2 out of 40,000 pregnancies.  Choriocarcinoma is known to be aggressive by nature, and can spread to the lungs, vagina, pelvis, liver, brain and other organs. Spread to the small intestine is uncommon but it occurs in less than 5% of these cases. If left untreated the tumor can cause the intestines to perforate and end in a medical emergency.

Quoting Dr Deepti Pinto Rosario (gynaecologist), “Our patient had this tumor which had perforated into her intestines and gone into her pelvic wall. It had also caused her thyroid gland to go haywire and she was in what is called thyroid storm, typically seen in such cases.” Choriocarcinoma although aggressive has a very good response to chemotherapy and once treated, survival is really good, she added.

Interestingly, Dr Deepti is the daughter of Dr Sydney Pinto Rosario whose father  Antonio Pinto do Rosario had set up noted  pioneering maternity hospital in Porvorim in Goa over a century ago. Dr Antonio Pinto do Rosario was a mayor of Mapusa during colonial times and responsible for the idea of the popular Mapusa Market (construction of which was executed by the late VM Salgaocar).

ONLY GOA TITO’S SOLD!

POST-the Tito’s controversies on social media, now Ricardo D’Souza, the elder of two brothers, has clarified that the night club is not selling their brand. But yes, they are only selling their Goa operations. Tito’s will retain the brand name for it plans to diversify into the alcohol and confectionary business.

Ricardo claims that he wants to make Tito’s an all-India global brand. He also clarified  that the buyer of the rights to run Tito’s in Goa has assured that he will retain all  existing staff, nobody will be retrenched, nobody will be unemployed. We hope all the mud-slinging going around will now stop with the clarifications.