Goa Blog |
- Goa protests being edged out of IFFI organisation
- Oil Spill in Goa Beaches Getting Worse
- Goa ordered to remove wrecked ship from tourist beach
- Goa Highway expansion: BJP accuses Kamal of playing fraud on Goans
| Goa protests being edged out of IFFI organisation Posted: 08 Sep 2010 08:45 AM PDT
Kamat said he would personally pursue the ministry to reconsider its position. Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), which co-organises IFFI along with the IB ministry's directorate of film festivals (DFF), Kamat said that he would meet IB Minister Ambika Soni to redress the matter. "The members (of the ESG board) suggested various things which would be put across to the DFF," Kamat told reporters after a meeting of the ESG board in Panaji. Earlier, a board member said that the DFF was completely edging out the state government vis a vis organising the prestigious film festival. "This is simply not accepted. We will not accept the memorandum of understanding in the present form. As per this MoU, state authorities are nowhere in the picture as far as organising this festival, which is happening in Goa," the member said. The MoU being referred to is a document signed annually between the DFF and the ESG, which specifically charts out the respective responsibilities to be shared by the state and central government authorities. Parallel activities organised by the ESG as part of IFFI celebrations during the last few years, have been riddled with allegations of corruption, with several members of ESG's governing council being named in alleged scams by the opposition. Courtesy: thaindian |
| Oil Spill in Goa Beaches Getting Worse Posted: 08 Sep 2010 08:37 AM PDT Oil Spill in Goa Beaches is getting worse by the day despite assurance from Tourism Ministry. Several Goa beaches have turned black due to oil spill which government says is annual phenomena. Tourism Ministry has played down the incident despite the fact that Oil Spill crisis calling it natural Phenomena but local people says that the problem is much worse than few previous years. More oil is washing up on the beaches of Goa then before. The fact is that more tar balls are washing up on the shores of Goa then ever before and the arrangements made by state government to clean the beaches are not enough. Expert says it would take quite a time to clean up the beaches the way things are moving now. Even government officials have admit that tar balls may not be cleaned before October. Some expert says that it could even take November or December to clean the beaches. This news is not good for Tourism Industry since millions of tourists visit Goa in October. In reality some beaches are very badly affected by the tar balls. Oil Spill has affected popular beaches like Calangute and Candolim, 15 km from here, and Colva, Velsao and other beaches in south Goa. Current conditions of the beaches could affect tourism in October as well in November. Goa beaches can not be cleaned until tar balls stops washing up on the shores. By the look of things it could take some time before oil spill stops hitting Goa Beaches. Workers cleaning the beaches in Goa don’t have sufficient gadgets to complete the job efficiently on time. All this has put the Goa Tourism Industry in loom. Several resorts are worried that tourist arrivals will decrease if government didn’t resolve the crisis quickly. Courtesy: Easy Destination |
| Goa ordered to remove wrecked ship from tourist beach Posted: 08 Sep 2010 05:59 AM PDT An Indian court on Wednesday gave the government in the resort state of Goa two months to begin removing the rusting hulk of a ship that ran aground on a popular tourist beach a decade ago. Two judges at the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court told the authorities they had until June to tow away the MV River Princess, which hit the coast of north Goa during storms in 2000. The giant iron ore carrier, grounded just off Calangute beach, has become a familiar sight to the tens of thousands of tourists who flock to the former Portuguese colony’s white sands every year. Local people frustrated by previous failed attempts to remove the ship filed a petition to the court demanding its removal, expressing concern about potential damage to the coastline, marine life and tourism. Sand and silt that has accumulated in the holed ship over the years has created an artificial sandbank, diverting tides and affecting currents, while corroded metal has been found on the shoreline, campaigners say. The judges said they took into account a report from India’s Ministry of Earth Science, which said further delays in salvaging the vessel would weaken its structure and its presence had led to an “immense ecological imbalance”. The state government in the capital Panaji, which has taken over ownership of the ship, had started a tendering process and a salvage contractor would be announced next week, advocate general Subodh Kantak said. Courtesy: msn |
| Goa Highway expansion: BJP accuses Kamal of playing fraud on Goans Posted: 08 Sep 2010 05:50 AM PDT Accusing Union Surface Transport Minister, Kamal Nath for playing a fraud on Goans vis-à-vis highway expansion, Leader of the Opposition Manohar Parrikar has said the BJP is in favour of a "wider" highway and not a highway under the National Highway Authority of India standards. Parrikar said the House Committee constituted to study the highway imbroglio has not met till date and added that he has written to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly over the delay in the convening a meeting of the Committee. Briefing newsmen, Parrikar said the same Kamal Nath had come out with the Special Economic zone (SEZ) and wants to commit land dealing fraud in the State by acting in haste on the national highway. "I have been told that the Centre will recover the cost of highway construction by collecting a heavy toll. They will charge 55 times for a monthly pass and the toll will be collected at two points between in South Goa at Verna and Zuari bridge", he said, adding that a passenger will have to shell out minimum Rs 1300-1500 per month to travel between Margao and Panjim. Saying that the highway will not be a national highway in the true sense of the term, since 90 per cent of the traffic on the highway will originate and terminate in Goa, Parrikar said the only solution to the highway lies in widening the existing highway and construct bypass in the villages to meet the requirements. "But, the Centre appears to be bulldozing the highway proposal without taking into account the sentiments of Goans", he added. Replying to a question, Parrikar said Goa needs a highway, but hastened to add that building a highway by implementing the National highway standards would bring havoc in the State. When it was pointed that the National Highway Authority of India has agreed to reduce the width of the highway in populated areas, Parrikar shot back saying "Till date, the NHAI has not come on record to reassure Goans that they will reduce the highway width in inhabited areas". Meanwhile, Parrikar said that the House Committee has not yet met till date and added that the recent meeting convened by the PWD Principal Chief Engineer is not a meeting of the House Committee. "As per procedure, a meeting of the House Committee can be convened only by the Secretary, Legislature", he said, adding that no such meeting has been convened till date. "The government will be committing breach of privilege if it says that the recent meeting was that of the House Committee", Parrikar added. Courtesy: Herald |
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