Saturday, April 3, 2010

Goa Blog

Goa Blog

Politicos please don’t kill this labour intensive industry in Goa

Posted: 03 Apr 2010 08:10 AM PDT

On March 1st  2010, just gone by,  155  Days   or 22  Weeks and  1  Day  were completed  since  the 900 percent increase in the casino entry fee  was imposed. When on September 1st  2009, the decision to hike the entry fee   from  Rs 200 to Rs 2000  came into effect the Digambar Kamat Government had two objectives  1) discouraging  local youth from visiting casinos and 2) reaping additional revenue of Rs 36.50 crores annually.

On the face this so called 'social step' by the Kamat government looked credible but it was completely fragile as it is today bleeding the casino business. Forget about locals even tourists be it a domestic or an international are today reluctant to visit a casino by paying an entry fee of 2K.  For example let's say a family of five adults on a visit to Goa, plans to visit a casino. This group now has to pay ten thousand rupees only as entry fee.  Well this is preposterous for a family to pay ten thousand rupees only to gain entry in a casino. The same money could be spent by this family for their entire stay of 4 days in Goa.

Of late there have been many reports in the media about the increase in the revenue due to the increase in the entry fee "Revenue generated by casino entry fees has gone up: CM", "Over two and half fold increase in collection of casino entry fees".

These reports have compared the collection of 8 casinos operating in April 2008 to 13 casinos operational as on date of which 4 are offshore. Inspite of the uneven comparison and a ten fold increase in the entry fee these statistics show only 2.5 times increase in revenue collection.   The aforementioned figures show that there is a reduction of 75 % in the number of tourists visiting the casinos.

Yes, the harmful indicator of the drastic increase in the entry fee can be gauged from the reduced number of entry tickets sold. The figures  available from Commercial Tax Department indicates that when  the ticket price was Rs 200 between June and August 2009, 90000 tickets were sold whereas in the period September to December 2009 only 15,685 tickets were sold when the entry fee was raised to Rs 2000.  If we talk about the sale of entry tickets only by the casinos of South Goa, it has dwindled considerably from around 50 tickets sold per day before the hike to around 5 tickets per day after the hike.

The less number of guests means less consumption of food and beverages which directly means less collection of VAT. Incidentally, VAT on food and beverage is charged at 12.5 percent and 20 percent respectively. Similarly it will result in the reduction of Entertainment Tax paid to the Government. By the way, casinos have to pay 10% of their collection as Entertainment tax.

Likewise it has also meant a reduction in the business for taxis. When tourists visit casinos, they normally use chauffeur driven cabs.
However the worst sufferer of this staggering increase will be the employees. With drastic fall of visitors all the Goa casinos are incurring huge losses and few of them have already stopped operations and many are in the process of curtailing their expenses by downsizing payrolls.

It is important to remember that Casinos be it an onshore or offshore are a highly labour intensive sector of the economy. They provide good job opportunities to those who lack higher educational qualification. Casinos can indeed reverse the trend of Goans going overseas to earn a better livelihood. For example a salary of an average dealer (inclusive of the tips and other perks) is between Rs. 20,000 to Rs 30,000. Due their inherent attributes of possessing pleasing personality and command over English language a career in the casino is tailor made for the Goan youth.
In addition each casino is a significant user of local services. To name a few the business sectors accruing great advantages are hotels, food and beverage supply, cleaning services, electronics and telecommunications, advertising, maintenance, equipment repair and so forth.

We need to remind ourselves why the government gave permission to start casinos in Goa in the first place. Casinos did not come into Goa on their own. Rather they were invited and encouraged by the State Government to set up shop in Goa.  It is worth noting that casinos are the single most important component of tourism that invites repeat business both for itself, hotels and the other related aspects of tourism.

Courtesy: Isidore Domnick Mendis

Goa to provide recreation base for warships

Posted: 03 Apr 2010 07:10 AM PDT

Goa is all set to provide Rest and Recreation (R&R) base for the warships calling the port from across the globe.
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“An exclusive berth is being constructed at the port and the work is expected to be over by March 2011,” Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) chairman Praveen Agarwal told reporters today.

The Rs33 crore facility with a length of 270m and which will be 22m wide is expected to augment warship traffic to the port, which usually call for R&R facility.

“Soldiers usually take break once in six months for rest and recreation and Goa could be the most preferred place for
the purpose,” Agarwal said.

MPT, which is one of the biggest port trusts on the Western Coast currently receives few ships for rest and recreational purposes.

Agarwal also pointed out that an added benefit of the new facility is that the soldiers who land for a break tend to spend lavishly which will boost the economy of the state.

Meanwhile, realising that the tourists arriving in Goa through cruise ships are required to land near a coal dump or iron ore heaps, the port trust is also developing an exclusive berth for these ships.

“This berth costing about Rs47 crore will be for berthing non-cargo vessels including cruise ships,” he said. The chairman said that the work on the project has commenced and will be completed by December 2011.

The MPT catered to 19 cruise vessels during FY 2009-10 bringing in 18684 passengers.

Courtesy:DNA

Bachchans, SRK to grace Abu Jani’s 50th birthday in Goa

Posted: 03 Apr 2010 04:15 AM PDT

Reaching the half century mark is special and it calls for a grand celebration. Designer Abu Jani of Abu-Sandeep is set to ring in his 50th birthday in style. Abu is hosting a party at a five-star hotel in Goa on April 4. Many Bollywood celebrities are expected to fly down to Goa to wish the designer on his special day.

A source says, “Abu and Sandeep wanted to make the occasion a grand one as Abu turns 50 on April 4. After much debate, Goa was chosen as the venue for the party. They have invited all their high profile friends for the grand bash.”

Some of the guests expected at the party are the Bachchans, including Abhishek, who is already in Goa shooting for Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maro Dum, Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan, Dimple Kapadia and Twinkle Khanna, Sonali Bendre, Shrishti Behl, veteran actress Shammi, Amrita Singh and Pinky Roshan.

Courtesy:M

Goa an unsafe hotspot? Not after May, promises govt

Posted: 03 Apr 2010 03:34 AM PDT

Murders, sinister stories of a foreign land mafia, local cops getting busted for peddling drugs, rape of children… Goa was a fit case for the caption, ‘Paradise Lost’.
But good news has started trickling in with the Rs 200 crore central package and steps to strengthen tourist
safety.
The man who could change that unfortunate caption to ‘Paradise Regained’ is 56-year-old Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat. Here’s what we had to say;

Q: For the first time Goa has got Rs 200 crore from the Centre. Do you have a clear, specific plan on how to spend it?
A: We had requested the Centre to give us a golden jubilee package. We thought the Centre should give a signal to the people of Goa that it thinks about Goa. Goans feel the Centre neglects the state because it is small, literacy is high and we are seen as more developed than other states. We had asked for Rs 1,400 crore. Finance minister has given us Rs 200 crore for the beach cleanliness, beach safety, green cover etc. We will put up a committee to see that the money is spent judiciously.

Q: But committees go into red tape.
A: It will not be a committee of bureaucrats. It will be a committee of prominent people.

Q: Will the money be spent in making Goa safer?
A: During the recent meeting of chief ministers on internal security, I had made a strong demand from Chidambaram for Rs 5 crore for a centralised control room in Panjim and 60 PCR vans, so that police presence is felt across the state. For instance, in Delhi, you see PCR vans everywhere, you feel confident. We want to build that kind of confidence among tourists who come to Goa. That fund was immediately sanctioned.

Q: One problem for tourists in Goa is that if you get into trouble, you don’t know which number to call.
A: We have set up helplines. There is a separate helpline for women and children.

Q: Do people know about it?
A: We have brought out booklets in different languages including Russian and Portugese.

Q: Goa is a place for young tourists. Can the Goa government be young in its approach, get information up on Internet, on platforms like Facebook and Twitter?
A: Certainly. We have to do that.

Q: What is happening to pending cases… Stephen Bennett, Scarlet
Keeling?
A: In all the cases they have filed chargesheets. In one case in which a minor Russian girl was involved, we have asked for day-to-day hearing at the children’s court. There should be a verdict in 30 days.

Q: Is your state serious about tourist safety?

A: We are studying the bill in the Rajasthan Assembly which says any case related to tourists will be finalised 40 days. I have spoken to the chief justice of the Bombay High Court in this regard. Foreigners want to go back. If the case is settled fast, tourists will feel the government is serious. I have spoken to the Russian ambassador, and he was very satisfied with the steps

.Q: What are you doing about the cleaning of the beaches? The stretch between Calangute and Baga is especially repulsive.
A: Last Budget I sanctioned Rs 1 crore just for cleaning beaches. Latest machines have come which screen the sand.

Q: When will they be put into action?
A: It should start from May. I’ll use central funds in this. An enormous beach safety programme has started. Danger spots have been marked out, lifeguards have been hired.

Q: How long have you been the CM of Goa?
A: I have completed 1,000 days.

Q: Are you the longest serving CM then?
A: No, the first CM served from 1963 to the ’70s.

Q: Why the instability?
A: I don’t know. Some say it is because of the smallness of the
Assembly. It’s easy to topple it. If you have a support base of
14,000-15,000, you are the king. You don’t need a party.

Q: Which is your favourite beach in Goa?
A: Colva. That’s close to our Madgaon home. The sand is white. In
Calangute or other beaches, the sand is dirty.

Courtesy:NDTV

Goa Shipyard delivers high-tech indigenous interceptor boats

Posted: 02 Apr 2010 09:41 AM PDT

Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) has achieved yet another milestone in its journey towards indigenous production of high-tech GRP interceptor boats by successfully delivering 61 boats to various states /UTs under coastal security scheme of the Ministry of Home Affairs for the marine police.

These boats have been designed and constructed for deployment in Indian territorial waters for day and night surveillance and investigation of suspected vessels in and around harbour, anchorage and along the sea coast. The boats are highly seaworthy and unsinkable type. The delivery process was started with 1st interceptor boat of 5T category having delivered to Coastal Security Police of Goa on April 27, 2009 and 61st interceptor boat of 12T category delivered to Gujarat on March 30, 2010. In addition, 3 more boats are ready and awaiting collection.

With the successful construction of these boats indigenously, GSL has become the first Indian Shipyard to have constructed and delivered so many boats in a short span of just 12 months.

Courtesy:TOI
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