By Rajan Narayan

AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when Goa is getting ready to host two major international events in the third week of November. For a Saturday following the week when there’s a growing perception that Goa is not safe for tourists. For a Saturday following the week when Vishwa Hindu Parishad objected to Vaddem Lake in Vasco da Gama being handed over to the church authorities. For a Saturday following the week when the Goa government rejected the proposal to include eggs in students school mid-day meal. For a Saturday following the week when the historic Sinquerim bridge which is the connecting link to Calangute, Candolim and Baga, has become a hotspot for anti-social elements.
AND a few stray thoughts on Goa getting ready to host two major international events in the third week of November. The International Film Festival of India is scheduled to start on November 20 with the inaugural ceremony to take place at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukerjee Stadium at Bambolim. Next day, that is November 21, starts the 45-day Exposition of the relics of St Francis Xavier will begin. The Exposition may not impact Panaji city directly. However, IFFI 2024 will add to the congestion in Panaji city.
Normally during IFFI, there is a huge increase in the volume of traffic. This is because IFFI attracts more than on an average 20,000 delegates, besides a couple of thousand media persons. The IFFI venues are all concentrated in the heart of Panaji city. The INOX complex which is the primary screening centre for IFFI films is next to the Panaji market. In fact, part of the Panaji market was demolished in 2004 to build the INOX complex.
The other venue is the Kala Academy which is also on the main Campal promenade or formally Dayanand Bandodkar road. During the first IFFI in Goa in 2004, the organizers provided auto rickshaws for the movements of delegates between INOX and the Kala Academy. Traffic is bound to be very heavy all along the main Bandodkar road leading to the Shayama Prasad Mukerjee Stadium on inaugural and closing days on November 20 and 28, respectively. The road leading to the Marriott resort will also be jammed as NFDC’S Film Bazaar is being held along the river Mandovi front here.
Both IFFI and the St Francis Xavier Exposition will place a burden on accommodation and transport in and around Panaji. The Exposition has traditionally been held in November and cannot be shifted as the relics of St Francis Xavier are at the Bom Jesus Basilica. However, IFFI can and should be moved out of Panaji. There is a proposal for setting up an IFFI complex at Dona Paula. A plot has been identified but construction still has to begin. Goa has become a permanent venue for IFFI but does not have a permanent infrastructure for holding the festival.

NEHRU’S LEGACY
AND a few stray thoughts on the Supreme Court burying the socialist legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru in a landmark judgement by the 9-J Bench. The Supreme Court led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud ruled that the Central and State governments cannot acquire private property.
Way back in 1978 the then Supreme Court Judge Krishna Iyer had declared that the Central government may take over any public property in the interests of the community for common good. The assumption was that all material resources of the community belonged to the people including private property. This was the ideology behind the socialist pattern of society to which the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was committed.
Now the shift in national policy towards the private sector which started during the tenure of former Prime Minister PV Narsimha Rao has been completed. It may be recalled that Dr Manmohan Singh liberated the country from the permit license raj marking a shift to a market economy. The judgement of the Supreme Court declaring that private property is not a community resource aims to protect private interest over public good.
Significantly, the minority judgement by Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia upheld the stand that the government has a right to acquire government property. Incidentally, the late Justice Krishna Iyer was the person who upheld the disqualification of Indira Gandhi on charges of corruption in 1975. Instead of resigning Indira Gandhi declared an Emergency. The Supreme Court also provided relief to 12 lakh students studying in madrasas in Uttar Pradesh. The Supreme Court ruled that minority communities had the right to administer their educational institutions.
GOA NOT SAFE?
AND a few stray thoughts on the growing perception that Goa is not safe for tourists any more. There are threats to tourists both on the roads and on the beaches and in the sea. The majority of domestic tourists flock to the popular beaches. Many of them do not know swimming but venture out into the sea. The problem is compounded by the fact that the tourists think that Goa is an alcohol paradise and one may get drunk happily. Over the Diwali weekend alone over 200 tourists were rescued from drowning on the beaches of Goa. Even capital city Panjim’s riverine Miramar beach is not safe for tourists or locals. There are dangerous rip currents which can suddenly drag amateur swimming tourists into deep waters even if they think they’re venturing into shallow waters. Besides the risk of drowning tourists also can become victims of drunken driving.
Ironically, the largest culprits are the tourists themselves. A survey has identified that crime is a major risk faced by domestic tourists. It may be recalled that tourists have been assaulted by taxi drivers in Calangute and other parts of Goa. International tourists also suffer from a lack of security. They are harassed by domestic tourists on beaches and are forced to pose with them for selfies. The Goa police also harass international tourists and demand bribes under the threat of planting drugs on them.

VHP & VADDEM LAKE
AND a few stray thoughts on the Vishwa Hindu Parishad objecting to the Vaddem Lake in Vasco being handed over to the church authorities for maintenance. The Mormugoa Municipal Council has passed a resolution to hand over the maintenance of the water body located at Vaddem in Vasco to a church authority. The VHP has condemned the privatization of public property. It has claimed that Vaddem lake is used by the majority community for religious purposes. It is the site for the immersion of the Ganesh idols and the Durga immersion after Durga Puja.
The result has been that Vaddem lake has been neglected and deteriorated constantly into a highly polluted lake. The Mormugoa Municipal Council does not have the resources to clean up and maintain the lake. So the church offered to maintain the lake only as a public good service.
It is unfortunate that the issue is being given a communal color by the VHP. Indeed, it’s a matter of concern that the VHP is getting very aggressive in Goa. Thanks to the protection in patronage of the double-engine government. No religious organization should be allowed to disturb the historical communal harmony in the state.

NO EGGS FOR KIDS
AND a few stray thoughts on the Goa government rejecting the proposal for including eggs as part of the school mid-day meal. It had been proposed by the nutrition authorities that eggs should be included in the mid-day meal program as a major source of protein. As of now, there is no provision for supplying eggs to students as part of their mid-day meal.
Eggs are already being supplied as part of the mid-day meal to school students in Maharashtra. We understand that there is a strong objection from fanatical Hindutva organisations to the inclusion of eggs in the mid-day meal. The Hindutva brigade is insisting that the students should get a pure vegetarian meal. This does not take into consideration the fact that Goans are not vegetarians. Even the poorest family in Goa cannot live without their daily fish curry.
It may not be economical or feasible to include fish curry as part of the mid-day meal. However, it should be feasible and desirable to include eggs in the mid-day scheme for school children. This will help them improve their nutrition protect them from a range of diseases like tuberculosis, widely perceived as a malnutrition disease amongst those who not eat balanced meals.

HISTORIC SINQUERIM BRIDGE
AND a last stray thoughts on the historic Sinquerim bridge which is the connecting link to Calangute, Candolim and Baga which has become a hotspot for anti-social elements. Locals have pointed out that the bridge has become a red-light district in Goa. The bridge was constructed and commissioned by the late Manohar Parrikar on the eve of the first IFFI held in Goa in 2004. He had hosted the traditional farewell party, hosted by the chief minister of Goa on the last day of IFFI and this one was held at the Sinquerim bridge in 2004.
The bridge was one of the first major projects initiated by the late Manohar Parrikar. It provided a crucial link to the Taj Group of hotels where international delegates were put up during the first IFFI. There were initially plans to transport the delegates staying in the Taj by boat. It may be recalled that the jetty at the Kala Academy was renovated at a cost of Rs25 crore for transporting delegates from Aguada to the Kala Academy for the opening ceremony for IFFI 2004. The plan was subsequently abandoned although the jetty was repeatedly renovated annually at IFFI for boat-styled dining out for IFFIgoers. It is to be hoped that the Kala Academy which has been malingering in a reported mess will be ready in time for IFFI this year.