By Rajan Narayan

AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when Town & Country Planning Minister Vishwajit Rane took over the property of the notorious smuggler Suknarayan Bhakia. For a Saturday following the week I was shocked to see the concretization and monetisation of Dona Paula jetty spaces. For a Saturday following the week when I was totally scandalized by the clothes or rather the lack of them displayed on our very own domestic tourists from India.
AND a few stray thoughts on when the Town & Country Planning Minister Vishwajit Rane took over the property of the notorious smuggler Suknarayan Bhakia. Vishwajit has shifted from his bungalow located at Joe Mathias’ Ocean Park complex to his new residence very close to the Raj Bhavan. Indeed, the entrance to Vishwajit Rane’s new palace is just on a side road of the Raj Bhavan gates.
In response to my mentioning Vishwajit’s new palace of abode, I was informed that it is was sale for Rs30 crore. I also understand that Vishwajit is reportedly building another bungalow at the seaside of Aivao village nearby. We do not know if Vishwajit is a partner of the real estate developer who bought the entire Aivao village from the Agarwals of Margao. The same Agarwals who were involved in large-scale silica mining and owned the G-Mall in Panaji and in Margao.
Vishwajit started off with his investments in real estate in Panaji with a row house at the Kamat Kinara complex at Caranzalem. He still maintains an office here. When Pratapsingh Raoji Rane was forced to leave the official residence as chief minister of Goa in the early 90s he had bought a flat near Dhempe college at Miramar beach. This flat now is now the office of Karapur Chemicals, a company owned by Deviya and Vishwajit Rane. Karapur Estates, a sister company owned by junior Rane, is a partner of the Lodha in a mega real estate project in Bicholim. It was recently revealed that a huge property was grossly undervalued when it was converted from an agricultural orchard to a settlement project.
The property was assessed for stamp duty at Rs100 per sq meter against the market value of around Rs10,000. So as far as we know Vishwajit has at least four real estate properties in Panaji alone. This includes the Kamat Kinara row house, his double-storied Dona Paula bungalow at Ocean Park, his flats in Miramar, and the bungalow just below the Raj Bhavan on the plateau of Aivao village.
Incidentally, Babush Monserrate, who has been and is very heavily in real estate in Panaji, has demolished his eight-storied structure at the Dona Paula seaface and is perhaps planning to build a taller structure like Mukesh Ambani’s “Antila.” Vishwajit Rane is under pressure to step down from the Cabinet following the high court verdict striking down the discretionary powers of the TCP minister.

CONCRETIZATION OF DONA PAULA JETTY AREAS
AND a few stray thoughts on the recent concretization of Dona Paula jetty areas. After a long time, I went for a drive around Dona Paula on Tuesday evening, March 18. For over 20 years I lived down a small pathway leading to the Hawaii beach, just behind the Dona Paula police station. During these 20 years from 1983 to 2003, there were only bungalows and one-plus-one buildings down this sloping road. I myself stayed in the basement flat of “Mendes Haven.” The plot next to “Mendes Haven” has been converted into the four-storied hotel calling itself Grand International. A huge multi-storied complex has come up all along the narrow road where the police station is to the right side up to Hawaii beach.
All these structures have to be illegal because they fall within the CRZ zone. Virtually on the beach at the end of the Hawaii beach lane is the Dayanand Bandodkar family house, also next to the house is the old bungalow where the late Siddharth Bandodkar, son of Dayanand Bandodkar used to stay. Siddharth Bandodkar had married Bollywood filmstar Leena Chandavarkar and was mysteriously shot dead in his villa at Hawaii beach. The samadhi of Siddharth Bandodkar is still there at Hawaii beach.
On the beach itself and leading to the water sports complex, large multi-storied buildings have come up. The very charming open-air seaside restaurant owned by former football player Trinidad has been contracted out to a Delhi party and converted into a luxury air-conditioned hotel-cum-restaurant.
I also was curious to see what had happened to an old haunt of mine at the Dona Paula jetty. During the monsoons when the waves were very high and swift across the jetty my better three-quarters and I used to walk down before or after dinner to sit on the benches and watch the tourists being soaked in the huge waves breaking on to the jetty compound. You can say getting high on cheap thrills.
But now I see how the entrance to the approach road to the jetty has been blocked at Dona Paula circle itself. No tourism vehicles jam-packed with tourists are permitted beyond the Dona Paula circle. Vehicles are parked all along where Nelson’s bar-cum-restaurant is and leading further up the corner to the road going to the NIO employees quarters. There used to be only bungalows on the left side of the road going to the jetty. The right side is occupied largely by the Prainha beach resorts. Huge three- and four-storied structures have come up all along the approached road to the jetty.
The only reminder from the past is the shops of the local hawkers selling tank tops, torn or acid created hole jeans or hot pants and shorts. You cannot walk to the tip of the jetty unless you buy a Rs50 ticket per person. Locals and Goans are exempted but they have to show their Aadhar cards to prove they are residents of Goa. The charms of the old retreat of the Dona Paula jetty has been completely destroyed. Today, it’s business and more business as usual.
AND a few stray thoughts on being totally scandalized by the attire or clothes or rather the lack of them displayed by domestic tourists. Young women who during my time used to walk around in sarees with pallu over their head like gunghat screen, like they dress back home in their home towns in Gujarat or Rajasthan are a thing of the past on Goa honeymoons. No more salwar-kameez with dupatta to be seen on tourists from Ludhiana or Amritsar either…today’s desi tourists are dressed in the briefest of hot pants and cropped tops, midrib exposures of delicate flesh. In this also include the older aunties in tow with their tight and ripped jeans and briefest of t-shirts. Uncles too in tight jeans and t-shirts. The children and teens too were in scanty clothing as if they were on the beach and not at famous tourist spot Dona Paula jetty and overlooking hillock.
In contrast, the only ones who were properly or adequately dressed were the local hawkers, selling a wide variety of t-shirts, tank tops, off-shoulder tops, see-through jeans, etceteras, to Indian tourists. All the tourists of course invest in an array of fancy hats and sun caps for protection against the sun’s glare. I felt embarrassed just watching our desi tourists.
Thanks to a Goa project itself as a no-holds-barred tourism destination, the beaches of Goa are full of domestic tourists including women dressed in terrible taste. To wear a bikini and even a one-piece you surely need a figure to go with it. Nothing looks more vulgar than brief bikini on outsize bodies. I have no desire to engage in body shaming. But perhaps what is worse than doing a strip tease on the beach is aunties jumping into the swimming pool with their full night dresses and housecoats on in the smaller beach resorts of Candolim and Calangute.
Drive over with I was happy to go back to my flat after seeing the vulgar display of domestic tourists and the concrete jungle that Hawaii Beach has become. Very soon I expect the whole of the seaside Aivao village will be converted into another Mathai Plaza.

PAPER LEAKAGE SCAM
AND a few stray thoughts on the alleged paper leakage scam at the Goa University. It has been alleged that AN assistant professor, Dr Pranav Naik, opened the lockers of his senior colleagues to steal the MSC chemistry question papers for his girlfriend. Apparently, thanks to the enterprise of Dr Pranav Naik, his dear friend got the highest marks in the subject. It is only after two activists, the famous Kashinath Shetye, and the president of the National Students Union of India, lodged a complaint that action was taken by Goa University powers. This was only after Governor PS Shreedharan Pillai, chancellor of the university, intervened.
Though the romantic paper leakage took place last year the university higher ups did not act on the complaints of the students, to the contrary Assistant Professor Dr Pranav Naik continued to be part of the examination process. It is suspected that the married assistant professor may have leaked the paper to his girlfriend in return for sexual favours.
Goa University Vice-Chancellor Harilal Menon continues to deny that there has been any paper leakage. Menon is insisting that there was only an issue over Asst Prof Pranav Naik opening the cabin of other faculty members for taking some chemicals for an experiment. There are allegations that lover boy is being protected by the ABVP students union is linked to the ruling party. The police have registered an FIR and Goa University on the orders of Governor Pillai has suspended the romantic professor.

MID-DAY MEALS
AND a last stray thought on the Goa government outsourcing mid-day meals for school children to the Mumbai-based Akshay Patra Foundation. The foundation has been handed over the land occupied by the Disaster Management Centre at the Pilerne Industrial Estate near Saligao. The foundation claims to have installed a high tech kitchen which can produce over 5,000 highly nutritious, well- balanced mid-day meals at a time.
The Akshay Patra Foundation will initially supply mid-day meals to schools located in Saligao, Calangute and Siolim. The tragedy is that the Akshay Patra will replace the Self-Help Group of women who have so far been supplying the mid-day meals. Now what will these out-of-job Goan women do.