Posts Tagged ‘Panaji’
Written by admin on 01 May 2012
Panaji, May 1 (IANS) The Goa State Election Commission (SEC), overseeing the May 16 state-wide panchayat polls has just played lifesaver to lakhs of Goans and tourists who love a late nightcap.
In a key modification of the poll code of conduct order, State Election Commissioner M.M. Modassir has allowed bars and restaurants to serve liquor right up to 11.30 p.m. and food through the night. The move follows a petition from the Goa Restaurant Owners Association (GROA) as well as coastal legislators asking Modassir to stop playing “party pooper”.
“I had also told him that if he can modify that order from 11 till 12 ‘o clock and that liquor should be sold till 12 ‘o clock in the interest of tourism,” Michael Lobo, BJP MLA and a spokesperson for the GROA said.
“Because tourists who visit the coastal belt and stay on the beaches of Calangute and Baga come for dinner only at 11. And if they are told there is no food or no liquor, it is bringing a bad name to the state of Goa. And if tourists do not come to Goa, they will go to some other destination like Thailand, Malaysia because it is finally the same price,” Lobo said.
The Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) has also welcomed the move to allow bars and restaurants to serve both liquor and food late into the night.
“With this order, there is clarity on the closure of the restaurants. The officials used to stop establishments from serving food after 11 p.m. which was unfair,” TTAG spokesperson Ralph de Souza said.
The stringent election code of conduct for the March assembly polls had already dampened Goa’s foreign tourist season a bit, which winds up formally in March, with the advent of the harsh summer. The month-long code of conduct which accompanies the impending polls for Goa’s 170 plus panchayats could have only spoilt the party for domestic tourists who throng to Goa during the summer vacations.
Tags: Goa, Panaji
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Written by admin on 01 May 2012
Panaji, May 1 (IANS) In a shocking incident, an illegal laterite stone mine was found on the site of an upcoming national and an international games events in Goa, prompting government to launch an inquiry into it, officials said. The state has hogged headlines for rampant illegal iron-ore mining.
The incident reflects obsession with illegal mining in Goa which has scaled a new high now with the land acquired for building infrastructure for the National games (2014) and Portuguese Commonwealth Games (2013) being used for extracting laterite stones. Goa remained in news for illegal iron-ore mining.
The illegal laterite mine was Monday raided by a team of officials from the Goa government’s department of mines and geology, which seized heavy equipments and power tillers that were used to drill into the hard laterite stone. Laterite stone is used as base material to build traditional houses in Goa.
Sports Minister Ramesh Tawadkar, whose ministry is scheduled to conduct the National Games 2014 and the Lusophony Games 2013, in which former colonies of Portugal will be participating, said he had ordered an enquiry into the illicit mining.
“I have asked my department to visit the site and contact the other department (mines and geology) for more information,” Tawadkar told IANS.
The mining is being carried out in Pernem taluka, in north Goa 30 km for here. The land was acquired by the Goa government for creating infrastructure for the National Games and a Games city which would host the games. In all, nearly 10 lakh sq. metres of land was acquired by the government in 2009.
While most of the illegal mining in Goa comprises of iron ore theft, many laterite as well as basalt mines, several of them illegal, also dot the state’s landscape.
Tags: Panaji
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Written by admin on 30 April 2012
Panaji, April 30 (IANS) Late night rave parties may again become the rage in Goa as the state government is trying to create special tourism zones where stringent sound pollution norms could be relaxed, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said here Monday.
Speaking to reporters at the state secretariat, Parrikar said the tourism industry was demanding that Goa’s stringent sound pollution laws be relaxed as it was affecting tourism in the state.
Parrikar said that he discussed the matter of creating special tourism zones with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his meeting with him in New Delhi last week.
“Special tourism zones can be created in thinly-populated areas, where the norms related to playing loud music could be relaxed,” Parrikar said.
When asked whether rave parties could be held in these special tourism zones, Parrikar said: “There can be”.
The chief minister said the present sound pollution norms were also affecting Catholic wedding parties, which often continue till late in the night.
“The present laws are also creating problems for Catholic weddings,” Parrikar said.
Known for its picturesque beaches and world heritage architecture, Goa is one of the top destinations in the country visited by a large number of international and domestic tourists each year.
Tags: Goa, Panaji
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Written by admin on 30 April 2012
Panaji, April 30 (IANS) Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar Monday said sensitive cases involving politicians and mining mafia would be handed over to the lokayukta once the ombudsman is appointed in the state.
He said the Goa lokayukta legislation was pending before the union home ministry and was likely to be cleared soon.
“All the (sensitive) cases will be handed over to the Lokayukta when it is established. It will happen soon,” Parrikar said when asked about action being contemplated by him against several ministers in the previous Congress-led government, who the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had accused of being involved in illegal mining.
In its election campaign leading up to the March 2012 assembly polls, the BJP had accused then chief minister Digambar Kamat and some of his cabinet colleagues of being involved in a Rs.25,000 crore illegal mining scam.
When asked why the BJP-led government was hesitant to act against the accused Congressmen, Parrikar shot back saying such action could be perceived as “witch hunting”.
Earlier, the chief minister said he had already apprised Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram about the need for establishing the institution of lokayukta. The Goa lokayukta bill is presently pending with the home ministry which is vetting the document.
“The file is presently on the home minister’s table. We are following the progress on the Lokayikta file twice everyday,” Parrikar said.
Setting up lokayukta within 100 days of coming to power was one of the poll promises made by the Goa BJP before the recent polls, in which the party won a simple majority of 21 seats in the 40-member house.
Tags: Goa, Panaji
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Written by admin on 30 April 2012
Panaji, April 30 (IANS) All mining activity in Goa should be limited to five days a week to make it sustainable, to keep tabs on the extent of ore extraction and alleviate the human-mining conflict, the Communist Party of India-Marxist demanded here Monday.
Addressing a press conference here, state CPI-M General Secretary Christopher Fonseca said: “There was a smoke screen created about illegal mining activity,” adding that the incumbent government was backed by those involved in illegal mining.
“For two days in a week mining operations should be stopped so mining that is made sustainable and intensity of mining is reduced. Today mining companies who want to run mines 24×7, all 365 days. This is condemnable,” Fonseca said, even as the new Goa government has promised to act against illegal mining.
“Mining companies who are working at breakneck speed should be given respite and rest,” he sarcastically said.
Fonseca also said that the Bharitya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition government’s actions against illegal mining were farcical.
“The government has suspended mining director for reasons best known to them… but many culprits responsible for illegal mining are backing this government,” Fonseca said.
Three newly elected BJP legislators, Nilesh Cabral from the Curcholem assembly constituency, Ganesh Gaonkar from Sanvordem and Subhash Faldesai from Sanguem are either mining extraction contractors or in the ore transportation.
Cabral has in the past even defended illegal mining at public forums.
“I don’t see what the problem is moving dumps. Dumps are an eyesore. We are only moving them. It is in fact good for the environment,” Cabral said, even as mining laws prohibit harvesting mining dumps.
Since he came to power in March, BJP Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has vowed to act against those involved in illegal mining. However, after nearly two months in power, action has been taken only against small fry, including a few tail end beneficiaries of illegal mining and the suspension of mines director Arvind Lolienkar.
In the run up to the polls, the BJP had claimed that several cabinet ministers as well as chief minister Digambar Kamat were involved in illegal mining and had pegged Goa’s mining scam at Rs.25,000 crore.
Tags: Panaji
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Written by admin on 28 April 2012
Panaji, April 28 (IANS) The Archdiocese of Goa’s social wing Saturday sought the postponement of panchayat elections in the state, alleging irregularities in ward reservation and delimitation.
“The Council of Social Justice and Peace voices its objections to this undemocratic and unjust manner of functioning of the state government. The present elections of the village panchayats scheduled for May 16 cannot be claimed to be free and fair,” said Maverick Fernandes, the council’s executive secretary.
The decision to seek a postponement was taken after a meeting of CSJP and civil society activists here.
“The arbitrary manner in which the director of panchayats has been issuing and withdrawing corrigendum regarding the delimitation of wards proves the vulnerability of this office to political pressures,” Fernandes said. There was no mechanism to check the subversion of a free and fair electoral practices, he said.
The CSJP has said the manner in which the panchayat wards were delimited and reserved smacked of arbitrariness and favouritism by the Bharatiya Janta Party-led state government.
This is the first time the influential Roman Catholic church of Goa, which largely represents the 26 percent Christian population in the state has come into direct confrontation with the government.
Tags: Goa, Panaji
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