CM PARRIKAR SAYS SPECIAL STATUS FOR GOA, BUT WELCOMES ONE MORE MIGRANT

By Aires Rodrigues

Today Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar stands totally exposed on his so called hoax mantra of Special Status for Goa by having gone out of the way to usher in another migrant Leena Mehandale as the Chief Information Commissioner of Goa. Her selection was a foregone conclusion and that mere formality by the Selection committee today was a sheer farce. 

Our friend Late Matanhy Saldanha must be rolling in his grave seeing that his once trusted friend is going back on what he had promised him and had even vowed over his grave to protect Goa for Goans.

It is now apparent that Manohar Parrikar has lost is all. His so called love for Goa and all his tall promises now stand vanquished. 

All he now cares is his Almighty Chair. But how long will all that last you, Mr. Chief Minister??

Konkani CD films

Stop! please if you have no knowledge, don't do it. learn a little bit of cinema no need to be a pro. please do not mock whatever is remaining. it's become a fashion to make a film and see 'makers' name on it and count themselves as film makers. 

i'll tell you the plot. 

there are main actors who basically speak north goan and there are few jerks who are south goans. this cannot be reverted as its become a trademark from the ages of dramas. our makers are not creative enough to come up with new ideas. 

lets talk about the latest CD films. 

there is jannet, selvy, agustin, selly, anita, all these so called comedians are having a south goan tongue. i hardly saw them playing a bardez character. they don't have it in them? or our directors are outdated? to get it out from them? viseversa the bardez actors never speak sasti. whats going on?? than there are some songs pushed in between where it looks like they are been shot live. 

well, there is a difference between audio and video shoot. video is not only to show the face of the singer and some backgrounds, you can do lot more with it. just because we are buying, you are not suppose to make anything. 

it's high time to be creative. you don't do what C D'siva did or what M Boyer did. come up with your ideas. watch movies. different language movies. learn the technique. Konkani is not dead yet but your effort of killing it is appreciable. this one from telaulim, that one from tivim, that one from savordem.. ain't we all goan? so keep your village to yourself. 

lets come to the song's. you copy desi tunes, old konkani tunes, hollywood tunes, and dump some stinky music in it. can you do anything of your own? if you are a good composer that doesn't mean you gotta sing your own song. that's not your job if you don't have it in you. there are brilliant singers let them do it for you. keep your nose for yourself.
now you say i have big mouth and you want me to do it if i can. who are you to tell me that?? i buy your shit so don't talk to me like that. improve your work and impress me. there is no censor board for KONKANI Cd films? any body can come out with any thing? as well upload it on you tube rather than selling your trial and error basis work. than you say the budget is not there. with less than what you spend, you can do a class job.

this cheap films make my mind sour to buy the movies from top makers too.

message: please do not spoil whatever is left. let's try and build it.

Reproduced from a post by: Jack Thechla Rodrigues

SACRIFICES OF EXPATRIATES IN KUWAIT.

Do all the expatriates make good money by working in Kuwait? The answer is a big NO. All expatriates are earning money is a sure fact but not all are earning to live a reasonably good life.  Then how all of them send reasonable remittances to their home countries to have a reasonable saving and reasonable standard of living for their dependents back at their home countries?   

As a matter of fact basically Kuwait is a place meant for the poor and economically low level expatriates who by making maximum of sacrifices save their money to their maximum by spending minimum only for their bare necessities. By doing such sacrifices they build their empires back at home to give a decent life for their dependents. The little empires that they build in their countries are big for their standard but surely not as per the Kuwait standard.

Overwhelming majority of expatriates working in Kuwait are single ones whom we call here as bachelors. According to the local standard their average salary is very low to live a decent life.  For this reason they make maximum of sacrifices to survive and save some amount to send back at home.  They stay as pay in guests in small rooms with 3 to 4 other persons where there is no freedom even to cough though it is good for maintaining good health. When you stay like this you have to sacrifice your privacy but pay less and save little more which is abundant for the poor expatriates coming from economically low standard level. 

Besides to save something little more he has to spend less on comfortable traveling, delicious eating, decent dressing and other amenities and requirements for leading a normal life. Hence, by undergoing enormous sacrifices, an expatriate can survive here and save something. However the results of these tremendous sacrifices create very bad effect on their health at the later stage especially at the old age stage.

I know a maid some years back on every Sunday from Fahaheel walking to Ahmadi Church for the weekly Mass covering one hour distance on foot thereby saving half a Dinar her Madame was giving her for transport. Thus she was saving 2 Kuwaiti Dinars a month to send to her home. For her standard these 2 KD were very big amount for her requirement when converted into Indian Rupees. With her very mediocre monthly salary plus the weekly and monthly tips she was getting, she got her two children educated up to graduation with a semi luxurious life and constructed a small but decent house. By seeing these, her neighbours said she was earning a lot in Kuwait but actually she was not earning a lot but sacrificing a lot which she invested in her children education and her house construction. 

The result of her precious sacrifices was such that finally she expired in Kuwait only due to Pneumonia and was buried here in Kuwait only denying her children a last opportunity to cast their glance on their dearest mother. Otherwise Maids and other domestics in Kuwait are worked more and paid less but their sacrifices are tremendous.

Many times when the situation goes out of their hands, many single expatriate ladies to protect their jobs safely and residence permits provided by the locals even has to make sacrifices of their bodies. This is the worst sacrifice females many times have to undergo against their will.  It is not only a sacrifice but it is also a torture.

In Kuwait very few expatriates are drawing 4 figure salaries and to earn the so low salaries they have to make so great sacrifices. The greatest sacrifice they make in Kuwait is the sacrifice of acceptance of humiliation and discrimination they face almost at every level against their wishes and if they are from the third world countries having non-white skin, then they are not treated as full-fledged human beings.  In the eyes of law you are treated here as equal with others but in reality and practically it is not. 

The low treatment some nationalities are getting here is so bad that it looks apartheid still exists not in Rhodesia or South Africa but below our own eyes. Because of this discriminatory treatment one feels he is a sub-human being and if he has to survive he has to accept this type of treatment. To accept such a treatment one has to perform a great sacrifice and many expatriates like dumb Goats are undergoing such a sacrifice for the benefit of their survival in this part of the world. To treat people like this is against the commandment of God.  But some expatriates working here had to bear this lowliness only to earn a mediocre remuneration thereby undergoing the greatest sacrifices.

To run the economy of this country and to develop it, expatriates are doing lot of sacrifices. These sacrifices are of their sweat and blood.  Hence, they should be treated with respect and dignity befitting their human nature. Even if they are wrong they should be treated humanely as human beings and as children of the same God. 

When Kuwait was invaded on 2^nd August 1990 many of these expatriates opposed this invasion by organising protest meetings and rallies in their countries and also by praying to God to help liberate Kuwait. This kind and generous gesture of expatriates cannot be ignored and cannot be forgotten. This was not a paid gesture but spontaneous one for the love of Kuwait and to get justice for Kuwait.

A. Veronica Fernandes, 
Kuwait.

 

REPLY TO "WHERE ARE THEY NOW IN GOA??"

A thousand “Porbim” Bab Veronica for you for writing such a bold and correctly worded article “Where are they now in Goa?”, in goa-kranti dated 24.07.13. Before I never saw you writing such a wonderful article on such an important subject.  During my last so many years of stay in Kuwait I saw our Kuwaitkars what they can do, they are only after cheap publicity with their names mentioned as Presidents, Gen. Secs. and so on.  And those who give such cheap people cheap publicity are also become cheap.  Veronic Bab, there is no journalist in Kuwait like you who can analyse the situation rightly and write correctly.

None of the Goan presidents and other office bearers of Kuwait Goan Associations are capable to motivate and unite people for the Goan cause either in Kuwait or in Goa except you Veronic Bab. If it was not for your intelligence and drive Konkani movement would not have come into existence in Kuwait and in Goa paving the way for the grand finale for the recognition of Konkani. 

If it was not for your initiative Goa-Kuwait Solidarity Centre movement would never come into being.  How greatly beneficial this movement proved to be for Kuwait Goans?

Besides you have immensely promoted the causes of Hotel Goan Heritage at Calangute, Direct Flight Movement, Konkani Martyrs Fund movement,  Novem Goem Movement, Sour ground Kuwait football movement, Release of Kuwait’s POW’s movement and so many other movements.

While doing these movements there were so many so called Goan stalwarts including 4 Millionaires but all remained dormant putting onus on you Veronic Bab to give the lead for all these movements for the cause of Goa. And as a matter of fact if these movements had been initiated by any other Goan, I am sure none would support because besides you Veronic Bab people would not trust any other Goan such as Alex Wilson Coelho who robbed Kuwait Goan Evacuees Fund and demanded sex for job.

There is no Goan in Kuwait who can match with your knowledge, wisdom, drive and leadership.  This is the hard fact one has to accept whether one likes it or not. But facts are facts. Your plus point Veronic Bab is your perfect character of which type none of the well-known  Goans among Kuwaitkars display.

There are so many prominent ex-Kuwaitkars rotting in Goa but none among them show any interest in Goan causes in Goa  Where is A.B. Fernandes gone and why he is hiding from public view? When in Kuwait as GM of Bahar he was shaking Kuwait but now become a cockroach. What Alexandre Fernades ex president of Colva Kuwait doing now in Goa? Hiding under the petticoat of his wife? In Kuwait he was making a big show but now in Colva sleeping. Where is Alex Wilson Coelho now?  In Kuwait he was acting like Sarpanch but now no news.  May be thinking on new strategy to rob Goan Welfare Society’s funds as he did earlier of Kuwait Goan Evacuees Society fund. 

IDENTITY WITHELD ON REQUEST.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW IN GOA??

Among the expatriate Goans, Kuwait Goans are known to be more noise making Goans of their power and position in Kuwait because overwhelming majority of them are of hoi-polloi family category. In Kuwait there are innumerable Goan associations and clubs manned by their presidents and other office bearers.  Many of them are known to make a big show of them as if they are leading personalities in the world even though no expatriate associations are recognised by the local government. Our associations are our own dominions known to us only.  Local authorities are least interested in our associations and our activities. Our associations and our activities are unknown to them.

During my last so many years of residence in Kuwait I saw so many presidents and other office bearers who were acting as if they were powerful Goans.  Watching from their style of behaving, talking and acting many times I got an impression that they were Devine creatures come from Heaven to represent Divinity. But in reality within myself internally I laughed at them as if they were big jokers and in fact they were big jokers. For them their world was only around their own circles, clubs and associations.  Job wise they may be good in their trade and professions but as human beings they were idiots of first grade. They din’t integrate with intellectually high calibre society because intellectually they were bankrupt, they din’t act big for the cause of Goa and Goans because they din’t have big brain power, they were afraid of smart people because they were not smart since they were suffering from ancestral inferiority complex. Many of them got girls to marry only because they were working in Kuwait.

All the so called top Kuwait Goans who were dominating Goan scenes in Kuwait and acting as Lords in Kuwait and now living retired life in Goa are living as unknown entities.  Nobody knows of their presence in Goa as it was in Kuwait.  They are visible only in the Churches attending the Church services regularly in their own localities. The way they were active in Kuwait it looked they would dominate not only their village level activities but also at Goa level as well. But NO!  They are all lost in Goa making people like us to ask “WHERE ARE THEY NOW IN GOA?”  Why they are living like unknown Cockroaches inspite of having vast experience in doing activities in Kuwait backed by their financial resources?   

Where are all the presidents and other office bearers of Kuwait Goan associations gone now? Where they are hiding now from public life? Where are all the Goan Managers gone now especially those who were harassing Goan staff working under them? Are they hiding somewhere under the Petticoats of their wives for fear of reprisal for the sins they did against Goans in Kuwait during their hey days of power, position and money?  Can they play the same arrogance and same ”Dadagiri” in Goa as they used to play in Kuwait? No, never, for this reason they are hiding from public galore and they will remain there thus till they die.

To do public activities in Kuwait in your community is easy because in your community especially in Goan community the leaders are like one eyed men among all his blind followers. These Goan leaders can handle only the cheap activities where you can get lot of cheap prominence. You can see such people on the surface in foot-ball circle, Church circle and Dance circle.  Some of the cheap Goan leaders you will find in these circles only doing cheap activities. In current Goa such Kuwaitkars have no place to survive.  

A. Veronica Fernandes,

Kuwait.

CHIEF MINISTER MANOHAR PARRIKAR’S STARTLING REVELATION

By Aires Rodrigues.

Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has finally publicly confessed that he had indeed gone to ‘Walking Street’ in Pattaya. My source in the Secretariat has revealed that Manohar Parrikar told a delegation of the RTI forum yesterday that he did not go there for sex but did only enjoy two Thai massages.

The four member RTI forum delegation that called on the Chief Minister at the Secretariat yesterday afternoon comprised of Dr Dattaram Desai, Ganpat Kuttikar, Devidas Amonkar and Srikant Barve.

Manohar Parrikar also told the delegation that he did not have to go so far for sex. What the Chief Minister meant only he would know. Does he want us to imply that he has many Monica Lewinsky’s at hand?

One’s private life should be nobody’s concern. But once you are a Public servant, your public as well as private life is liable to be under the public scanner. Travels to dubious and infamous destinations, cannot be masked as a 'yatra' for enlightenment.

The Chief Minister further told the delegation that his visit to Pattaya was as he had promised to take seven others on the trip. Hope Manohar Parrikar has shown the expenses of this fun making jaunt on his tax returns. If it was sponsored by the Casino or mining lobby, it would be interesting to know the name of the sponsor and also the names of the six others besides Atmaram Nadkarni who were part of this high powered adventure.

I am told that the Chief Minister yesterday spent over 20 mins of the half an hour meeting with the RTI delegation taking pot shots at me. May be the Chief Minister lost track that the meeting was to discuss about the appointment of the Chief Information Commissioner and State Information Commissioner. What a waste of time by the Honourable Chief Minister.

Mr. Chief Minister, for the last over four decades I have had to face the bashing and brick-bats of Goa’s every Chief Minister. You are just one of them and your successor may also be no different. All this only strengthens my resolve to continue my mission against corruption, nepotism and mal administration till my very last. "Satyameva Jayate".

KONKANI FILM “SIMRAN” IN KUWAIT.

 

Yet one more Konkani VCD “Simran” is on sale in Kuwait city now and as usual it is sold very cheaply. It is Nevile Pereira’s third presentation in which some of the top Konkani Stage artistes namely Annie Quadros, Diana, Cyriaco Dias, Comedians Mathew  and Supremo Humbert, Anil Pednekar, Sheikh Amir and Sucurro de St Cruz participate.

In the cover page the names and identifications are not given and  because of this it becomes difficult to identify the names of all the participants.

Evergreen and seasoned artiste Annie Quadros plays a stellar role in this film while new comedian Mathew gives an added colour to this film. Comedian Humbert plays his role well.  Anil Pednekar with his youthful and handsome looks plays his role very well along with his female partner. After a very long gap veteran actor Cyriaco Dias is seen in this film playing a very good role of which type present generation artistes cannot play and will never be able to do.

Videography  is excellent. Lot  of priests are seen acting in this film.

The theme of the film is Anti Abortion in deference to the Church Doctrine. 

It is worth watching this Film available in Kuwait city. 

A well written story and well directed film by producer Nevile Pereira.

A. Veronica Fernandes,

Kuwait.

CCP COFFERS EMPTY BUT MAYOR WANTS A PLUSH NEW CAR.

 

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By Aires Rodrigues


Every paisa of the tax payer has to be judiciously and thoughtfully spent, more so when the State is currently going through difficult financial times. It is therefore outrageous and despicable that despite the coffers of the Corporation of City of Panaji (CCP) being empty, Mayor Surendra Furtado has had the audacity to seek for himself a new Toyota Innova at a whopping cost of Rs 14, 20,643. The reason cited for opting for a plush new car is that on health grounds the Mayor has been medically advised not to travel in his current official car, a Volkswagon Vento Sedan which is just two years old.

What a cruel joke on the people of Panaji. If the Mayor is not well, then what he needs is walking around for exercise and talking less for rest. As the Mayor has to move around only in Panaji, a Nano would suffice in troubled economic times being faced by the CCP. Worse come to worst buy an ambulance. The CCP has a hearse already.

Surendra Furtado had promised a Parivartan in Panaji. He is three months in office and has been unable to even clean up the filth at the Panaji market..

And let us hope that the four garbage trucks donated this week to the CCP by some of the city builders is not laying of the stage to facilitate the further concretization of Panaji.. 

STEP - MOTHERLY TREATMENT.

 

By Nisser Dias                                                                                  

Step-motherly treatment to health care in Goa

           

            Decades back the basic needs of a human being was ‘roti, kapda aur makhan’, today with the evolution of time and modernity two more basic needs have been added to that list. And that is education and health care. Many a countries in the world including India has made these two requirements of modern day life freely available to its citizens, sadly in India it largely remains as desire of the people. To some extent the Centre through the state governments have reached out to students to attract them to attend school to eradicate illiteracy, healthcare has suffered badly because of the apathy of the political class of people who seem to be more interested in letting private players in the health sector to flourish.

            It will require reams and reams of papers if we try to compile medical negligence in government hospitals and neglect of government hospitals all over the country. So at the moment let me concentrate or rather focus on the neglect of government hospitals in our own state. A state that is said to be forward looking with a different outlook compared to the rest of the country, advanced state in contrast to other states. A world famous tourist destination and yet successive governments have not been able to establish a robust government healthcare system where its people can get quality medical treatment for free.

            Of course in 2002 during the first tenure of Manohar Parrikar as chief minister a survey was conducted by a reputed national new magazine and Goa did stand among the first five in healthcare. But the parameters then were based on the number of primary health centres, sub centres and government hospitals. So also it was based on the number of people visiting these hospitals. But the mystery still remains whether the journalists conducted survey by actually visiting these centres (health) and observing its functioning or whether the information sought by them was provided by the government officials in their hotel rooms?

            Nonetheless Goa was projected in the top five in health-care in the country but we all know the ground realities are quite different.  A visit at any health centre or sub-centre or hospital including government Goa Medical College (GMC) will indicate that the authorities are not bothered about the hygiene and upkeep of the centres and hospitals.

            Recently the false ceiling of the Out Going Patient (OPD) at GMC had collapsed due to leakage of rainwater. Fire had also erupted in the complex, there are many more examples to show that successive Health minister lack the will and the zeal to bring about revolutionary change in the public health care.

            Hospicio is yet another story of neglect and disregard. It has become a sort of a tradition that upon taking oath the newly ordained minister visits this hospital based in the commercial city of Margao and is a nodal hospital for south Goa. But successive governments have conveniently ignored to cater to its requirements. The word hygiene had taken leave of absence in this hospital years ago. The staff including the doctors posted at this hospital must be using the word sanitisation only while advising the patients because I do not think the hospital was ever sanitized. Of course I do not blame the doctors and the staff because it is the duty of the government to provide the equipment and chemicals to do it. It is our bad omen that the successive governments have even failed to provide adequate beds and bedsheets due which patients have to share a bed and that too without a bed cover and bed sheet. Family members or relatives have to be content sleeping on the floor.

            The morgue at Hospicio is yet another issue. Over the decades the capacity of the morgue has not been increased and there have times when even two corpses were accommodated in once space. Infact some years back reacting to my news item on the mortuary I was invited to visit the morgue. The contention of the in-charge was that it was maintained and the dead persons were given the due respect. To his bad luck a dead body was kept on the floor outside the cold storage and he had to apologize to me. Subsequently chief medical officer posted at Hospicio decided to build another morgue at Leprosy hospital inspite of resistance from the morgue incharge. Couple of years later it was closed down because of inconvenience. Lakhs and lakhs of rupees down the drain.

            The leprosy hospital in Margao at the Monte hill is another case neglect. Yes, we have the infrastructure in place in terms of buildings, plenty of space around it and qualified staff but to my utter dismay the government does not have the resolve and determination to maintain it and run it smoothly like private hospitals.

            Similar treatment is also being dished out to hospitals in the pipeline. Digambar Kamat government has poured in crores of rupees in the new district hospital project on the outskirts of Margao. Today all the works on the promising project has come to a standstill as the current government is not making the funds available for its completion. Initially Health minister Laxmikant Parsekar made tall promises of completing the project so that it would be a big asset to the state and a facility to the people of south Goa. One and half year down the line the project stands abutting the national highway as a ghostly, ugly structure.

            The government showed great interest completing the imposing South Goa Collectorate even after cribbing that its maintenance would be a financial burden on the government treasury year after year. But similar enthusiasm is lacking in this case. The question is why. If the government does have the finance due various factors like stopping of mining, servicing of various populist schemes then why does the chief minister keeps on promising financial assistance at every public function he attends. The idea should have been to complete public amenities already underway and then take up new ones. But it has become our government’s agenda to give step-motherly treatment to most of the public amenities including health care.

            Send your comments/reactions to nisserdias@gmail.com Or SMS 9422437029)

  

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Nisser