COLD, COLD, COLDER?
GOA’S winter which has been taking a holiday for the last few Christmas seasons has returned with the New Year of 2023 with an extra cutting sting. In addition to the biting cold those who leave the home early in the morning at dawn talk of fog or mist so intense that visibility is virtually 0%. Forget morning walks, forget drives in the mist, out of the question. Ferry services between Panaji and Diwar and Panaji and Chorao have been stopped for a few early morning hours because of poor visibility. According to the met department, the fog and cold are likely to persist for the next few days. The humidity at 8:30am was 100 degrees while on January 15 it had fallen to 92 degree. Enjoy, if you can!
ACCIDENTS CONTINUE
THE spate of accidents in the new year and month of January 2023 continue. Dharbandora resident Karkal Mohanty succumbed to his injuries in a hit-and-run accident. Mohanty sustained severe injuries on Monday, January 16 in an accident at Mollem. Pillion-partner Anna Dorai was also injured and is undergoing treatment. Again, a couple with two children were also injured in another hit-and-run accident at Shanti Nagar, Vasco. Around 8pm at Mangor hill in Dabolim. For some reason hit-and-run cases are on the increase. There was another accident at Karma Ghat on Sunday night, January 15 when a loaded truck hit an SUV. Be careful, be careful while out of the house, even if it is not your fault but the other person’s! Hell is other people, we know that.
LOKOTSAV 2023
LOKOTSAV is coming back January 30 to February 8. The Directorate of Art & Culture in association with West Zone Cultural Centre– Udaipur and other government agencies organise the annual folk festival at the Darya Sangam compound of the Kala Academy down the Campal promenade in capital city Panaji annually, the folk festival has become a popular event. This time too expect to say hello to 500 artists and 600 craft shops plus, plus attractions. The craftspersons who enrol for the fair are provided free space to sell their variety of art and craft and their creature comforts are catered for except for accommodation we are told. It is a win win situation except that many love Goa and dream of settling down here, far from their native homes where life is grimmer perhaps!
ADANIS BLACKENING GOA
THE Gautam Adani group has got permission by the Centre to increase coal handling facility and two berths at the Mormugoa Port Authority the total cargo to be handled is to go up to 15 million tons per year. So there will be more railway coaches for carrying the black cargo to the Adani and Jindal plants out in Karnataka. This is a huge increase since the present capacity is only two million tonnes. With the new permissions pollution levels will go up at least five times more. It is left to be seen if tourists will come to holiday in a Goa blackened by coal dirt pollution. Anybody wants to breathe in coal dust?
KALA ACADEMY RENOVATION
CULTURE Minister Govind Gawde is facing the music for irregularities and corruption charges vis-à-vis the renovation and refurbishing of the Kala Academy designed by the late iconic architect Charles Correa…now a special technical committee has been appointed to check out where the problems have been rectified or not rectified and who has pocketed the money. If you remember the Charles Correa Foundation had also questioned the renovation being handed out to a dubious quality parties by way of government favors. As of now the outdoor auditorium has been completely broken down by the renovation in charge party, nobody knows who! It is top secret. At the recent AYUSH expo at the venue many complained that the washrooms were in a worse state with no hooks on the toilet doors to hang handbag.