POWER MINISTER PRESIDES JANATA DARBAR AT VASCO

THE Electricity department is making serious efforts to resolve the problem of frequent power failures in Goa, according to Minister for Power Ramkrishna alias Sudin Dhavalikar. He was speaking at a janata darbar organised by the Collectorate (South) at Baina, in port city Vasco da Gama on September, 4 2023. The minister further stated that his department is planning underground cabling of high tension electricity line in coastal, agricultural, forested and urban areas, and this would reduce power failures. They are also focusing on generating power through solar energy; Goa produces 43 megawatt power through solar energy and this will be enhanced up to 150 megawatt by 2030. Dhavalikar praised the initiative of Janata Darbar whereby the people could come and put forward their grievances concerning government services. The Power Minister listened to various problems to do with coal pollution in the Vasco area, issues of road encroachment, illegal construction and mismanagement of garbage, road safety, etc. These issues will be resolved amicably in the near future. Vasco MLA Krishna alias Daji Salkar, Sankalp Amonkar (collector South), Asvin Chandru (IAS), addl collector Srinet Kothwale, Addl collector Deepak Dessai and others were present at the Janata Darbar.

INDIA VS BHARAT

PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi has opted to use Bharat instead of India while communicating with the G20 leaders. In invitations send out instead of India, Bharat has been used, for various invitations. However, it’s being hotly debated if this is constitutional or not. According to the Constitution the official name of the country is and not Bharat. While the use of Bharat is not illegal the BJP may not switch from the hitherto official protocol of using India. The dinner invitation to be hosted by President Draupadi Murmu refers to India as Bharat and in his speeches the PM refers to India as Bharat and never India. Is this some kind of childish Hindutva agenda of the BJP?

CAMBRIDGE NOT BARRED

MANY aided schools were refusing admission to those who have been studying in the super special Cambridge schools. The Cambridge schools such as the Zee school claims to be affiliated to the international organization. This organization claims to follow the standards of Cambridge University. Many students choose to switch to Mushtifund at the 9th standard due to their integrated course offering training to IIT’s. The Education department has clarified that the Cambridge schools are recognized educational institutions and transfer cannot be blocked.

STREET PROVIDENCE GOA COLLECTING BLANKETS

Street Providence Goa is attempting to collect, send and distribute 10000 warm blankets to the displaced people in Manipur. Street Providence are the only NGO from Goa on the ground in the camps across Manipur and all their volunteers are Goans from different fields in their respective professions giving their time and energy to assist.
By end of September, a 4 member team will again be in Manipur to provide relief material as their 2nd truck from Goa is planned for the 16th of this month. They have set up 18 collection centres across different parts of Goa and would appreciate these volunteers for providing their time to assist them in this collection drive.
They are looking for new blankets for the children and adults and are willing to accept any sort of blanket, long or short, thick or thin. The only criteria they ask for is that the blankets should be unused as they don’t want to spread any sort of skin infection. This drive will go on till 30.9.2023.
Here heavy woollen blankets are required to beat the cold winds in winters while in the winter temperatures can drop to around 1-2 degrees Celsius (around 33-36 degrees Fahrenheit). The donated blankets will be used to help the displaced people currently living in camps.
The people of Manipur are currently undergoing trying circumstances and they are still recovering from the ethnic violence committed there. Although there are steps being taken to reconstruct the homes and neighbourhoods burnt down, it is still a while away and there are a lot of people currently living in camps with scarce resources.
We have two more drives for two more items coming up soon and again 10000 pcs each. These 30000 blankets will go a long way in helping out the 50000 displaced people who have lost their belongings. The Goan Observer urges all to help in any way they can.

CHEATING BY MNC’s

WHEN you buy a large packet of Marie biscuits made by Britannia, you expect 20 biscuits, which is the quantity noted on the package. A customer who bought 12 large packets of Marie biscuits discovered that there were only 19 biscuits in each packet and managed to get an order through the courts to compensate him for the shortage in the 12 packets purchased. It is possible that many multinationals engage in this kind of cheating. When buying products like biscuits or chocolates do check if information on package conforms to contents in it. And be particularly careful if you’re buying imported biscuits and chocolates. Many foods are imported when their due date of expire is closing and this is re-freshed in countries like India which tends to think imported is better. The tragedy is that most of us don’t even look for original expiry date blocked or re-freshed with a new expiry date! Some discerning consumers will buy products kept at the back arrows of a shelf than in the front rows thinking the back rows will have better expiry dates!

GOKULASHTMI IS HERE!

THIS is the season to celebrate the birthday of Hinduism’s arguably favourite god, Lord Krishna. The birthday of Lord Krishna is due to be celebrated on Gokulashtmi and it is marked by the breaking of the of the “dahi handi” which is tied high at 10 to 15 metres between building skylines. The point is the pot also comes with bonus bundles of cash! So there are many teams of young men and women forming pyramids down on the roads to get to the pot to break it free. The BJP is promoting Gokulashtmi as an official festival and even offering bumper prizes for the “dahi handi” which is tied up highest!

SHIRODKAR HEARS GRIEVANCES AT JANTA DARBAR

THE Office of the Collector, North Goa, organized the third janata darbar for Bicholim taluka, a pioneering outreach program, at Ravindra Bhavan, Sanquelim, on September 4, 2023. This outreach program brings services to the doorstep of the people. Minister for Water Resource department Subhash Shirodkar listened to local grievances and promised to redress them. He emphasized the importance of transparency and accountability in governance and suggested a monthly report card system, where all departments will provide updates on their work in progress and pending tasks which will foster greater efficiency, and ensure that government officers work diligently for the welfare of citizens. There will be some special meetings in the coming months focusing on Bicholim taluka, with particular emphasis on the Water Resource and Co-operation departments. Janata darbar sessions commence with a report presented by the agriculture department, recognizing the pivotal role of agriculture in many taluka, including Bicholim. Dr Chandrakant Shetye (MLA, Bicholim constituency) said there is a need for a good auditorium in Bicholim taluka. Premendra Shet (MLA, Mayem constituency) highlighted government shortcomings in providing a platform for swift grievance resolution. Others who attended the janata darbar included Mamu Hage (IAS, North Goa Collector); Nidhin Valsan (Superintendent of Police, North Goa, IPS); Rashmi Desai (chairperson, Sanquelim Municipality); Kundan Falari (chairperson, Bicholim Municipality); Gopal Surlikar (ZP); Pradeep Revodkar (ZP); Mahesh Sawant (ZP) and officers from different departments. The welcome address was by Rohan Kaskar (deputy collector of Bicholim) while Dattprasad Jog was program compere. The vote of thanks was proposed by Rajaram Parab (mamlatdar, Bicholim).