`VANMAHOTSAVA’ AT RAJ BHAVAN
GOVERNOR PS Shreedharan Pillai celebrated Vanmahotsava at the Raj Bhavan by planting mango saplings on the campus on July 23, 2023. The tree planting was jointly organised by Raj Bhavan and the Department of Forests. First Lady Adv K Rita Pillai also graced the occasion and planted a sapling. Others who participated included Puneet Kumar Goel (IAS, Chief Secretary), MRM Rao (IAS, Secretary to Governor), Rajiv Kumar Gupta (IFS, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest), Yesodha K (IFS, Conservator of Forest), Umakant (IFS, Additional Principal, Chief Conservator of Forest), Praveen Kumar Raghav (IFS, Chief Conservator of Forest), Saurabh Kumar (IFS, Chief Conservator of Forest), Sanjeev Gauns Dessai (Add Secretary to the Governor) and other officials. Several of them also took part in the planting of fruit tree saplings in the Raj Bhavan gardens.
The event is aimed to promote afforestation and environmental awareness in the region. Vanmahotsava symbolized the importance of planting diverse and valuable trees. Their active participation will set an inspiring example for the attendees.
Free plant saplings were distributed to the people on the occasion to encourage them to take an interest in conservation efforts individually and create a collective sense of responsibility among citizens towards the environment. The monsoon is a time to celebrate all things green and bountiful in nature!
31 CANDIDATES GET JOBS AT ROJGAR MELA
MINISTER of State, Ports, Shipping, Waterways and Tourism Shripad Naik distributed 31 appointments letter to candidates at the Rojgar Mela organised by Central Goods & Services Tax Department at ESG Hall at Panaji on July 22, 2023. This is follow-up to Prime Minister Modi’s earlier distribution of more than 70,000 appointment letters to newly-inducted recruits through video conferencing the same day. The minister congratulated the candidates and said the Rozgar Mela is a step towards the fulfilment of the PM’s commitment to employment generation.
It may be remembered that October 22 last year, the first phase of the Rozgar Mela was launched and this year is Seventh Phase when out of 31 recruited candidates, one candidate from Goa is posted in Goa Custom Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs(CBIC). He also appreciated the State government’s initiative of distributing apprenticeship contracts to thousands of Goan youth on the occasion of World Skills Day. Shri Naik urged the newly recruited candidates to contribute and work hard to achieve the PM’s goal to become “Vikshit Bharat” and make India proud.
Commissioner of Customs Goa (Central GST & Customs) Navraj Goyal, Commissioner, Custom Goa(Central GST & Customs) in his welcome address called the occasion momentous for it taking forward the PM’s vision of promoting employment to the youth of the country. Others present were VN Thete (Principal Commissioner, Custom Goa, Central GST & Customs) and Mohan Keshav Tamboskar who is posted in Goa Custom Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs(CBIC).
PARENTS SUPPORT
PARENTAL support of parents is vital particularly for the girl child. An outstanding example is TOI journalist Gauree Malkarnekar, who admits that it is thanks to the support and encouragement of her parents, that she has achieved an abundance of success in journalism. Gauree won the GUJ award for environmental stories this year and she confided that she was at the top of her profession thanks to the consistent support of her father Mr Malkarnekar, who started life as a government school teacher and retired as assistant director of education. Young 35-year-old Gauree is amongst the best investigative journalists of Goa and we are proud to state here that she started her career at the “Goan Observer” political weekly.
SHORT STORY CONTEST
FUNDACAO Oriente, the Portuguese cultural organisation which has offices in Goa, have renewed their popular short story competition. The short stories may be Devanagiri and Romi Konkani, Portuguese and English. Entries must be submitted between August 15 and 30, 2023 to the office of Fundação Oriente
NOW HALAL TEA!
INDIAN Railway Catering Service which supplies tea snacks and lunch on Indian trains has kicked up a controversy. The staff now claim that the catering unit of the railways supplied water to make what is considered as “halal tea” to passengers on the Rajdhani Express. We have heard of halal food in restaurant and even packaged food products, but this is the first time we are hearing of halal tea. The supplier claims that the halal tea is completely vegetarian. Halal is a special process prescribed in the holy book of Muslims vis-à-vis food and beverages to be consumed by Muslims.
MINING TO RESUME
CHIEF Minister Pramod Sawant has revealed that mining is all set to resume in November or December later this year. Both leases and the dumps will be the property of the companies which won the bids. So far only two Goan companies, namely Fomento and the Anil Salgaocar Group have been successful in bidding for the leases. Other Goan companies have not been able to compete with Jindal and Vedanta who have submitted the highest bids. Unlike Goan companies Jindal and Vedanta have steel plants in neighbouring Karnataka. There is no assurance that the new mining companies will offer jobs to those who went out of jobs when mining was banned.
DOWNPOUR TO CONTINUE
ACCORDING to the IMD Goa will continue to witness very heavy rains in the next few days. It has been raining non-stop for the last three days and the IMD has again issued an orange alert till Friday for heavy rainfall. Among the areas most affected is capital city Panaji. In the case of Panaji the maximum amount of rain fell between midnight and 5 am.
HASH COOKIES
THE government has received complaints that pastry shops are selling “hash cookies.” Hash being the popular short form for marijuana or “greass” as it is referred to. Hash is mixed in the biscuits and cakes served in some bakeries along the coastal belt and party zones of Anjuna. Hash is considered the mildest of the narcotic substances and is grown primarily in the hill states. However, we hear reports that even foreigners are growing the hash weeds in the gardens of their hotels and bungalows in Goa. In most countries the sale of hash is permitted for medicinal as well as rest and recreational purposes. It is considered as a harmless painkilling opiate.
MANIPUR CONTINUES TO BURN
TROUBLED Manipur continues to witness armed clashes between its two major communities. The police and even army units are under attack. Ironically, in some areas the clashes are between various tribal Christian sects. Women are at the forefront of defending their territorial areas. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, apart from a few cursory general comments of concern, continues to play it deaf, dumb and blind on the subject of the brutal carnage of violence taking place in Manipur and the targeting of women for terrorising, sexual abuse and killing. He even refused to say anything in Parliament despite the vociferous urging of the Opposition parties. It’s all playing it dumb for now.
SHARUKH CHALLENGED
TO compete with the Oscar-winning song “Naatu Naatu” from RRR movies, Sharukh Khan is working on a song featuring a 1,000 dancers. This is Sharukh Khan’s biggest dance sequence. Recently, the actor suffered a nose injury while shooting in Los Angeles in United States and had to undergo minor surgery.