Feb 1:

MUNDKAR ACT BLAMED: The Mundkar Act and the Agricultural Act, both claimed to be agrarian reforms, were very much needed so that problems faced by the mundkars and tenants could be solved, development achieved and agricultural production increased. But these proved to be moving in the opposite direction, destroying the very essence of agriculture in Goa, creating social tension, economic imbalances and disharmony among the mundkars, tenants and bhatkars.

DRUGS & DEATH: Of the 16 deaths of British nationals reported in Goa during 1999, six are drug related, five are accidental and five are natural deaths. British High Commission has lauded the state government's efforts to crackdown against the drug menace in Goa.

PROTECTION NEEDED: Justice Ranganath Mishra, chairman of the Human Rights Department of All-India Congress Committee and a former chief justice of India, said that the influx of people has brought a number of hazards--particularly health and criminal--and led to the deterioration in the level of living in the State. He added that Goa has a better society as compared to other States but the human rights problems are increasing and hence Goa should set up a human rights commission. He cited examples of threat from flesh trade and HIV.

Feb 2:

PROBLEM OVER KONKANI QUESTION PAPER: A 13-strong crowd assaulted and abused Dharmanand Khotkar, Konkani teacher of Marcela's Sharda English High School, alleging that the paper he had set for the prelim exams was anti-national.

THAKARAN COUPLE ARRESTED: The husband-wife duo, Sanjay Avatar Singh Thakaran and Anjali Thakaran of Vaibhavnagar in Agra, wanted in the sensation double murder of newly married Vikas and Kavita Nanda while on their honeymoon in Goa, was arrested in Agra and lodged in the Mapusa lockup.

Feb 3:

BRUNO'S OMISSION: Bruno's absence from the flight (of the Salgaocar team) to Calcutta means that the Bengalis, will cherish the absence of the player they like to hate most. After all it was Bruno Coutinho, who silenced over a lakh Bengalis with his twin goals in the 1997 Federation Cup finals.

KRC EARNINGS: Considered to be the country's most prestigious route, the Konkan railway mops up Rs.100 crore through passenger fare and Rs.30 crore through freight every year, KRCL finance director K R Sinha. Its Roll-on-roll-off service to is doing get well now. The State government, however, is yet to disburse Rs.6.5 crore towards the equity bonds during the current financial year.

RECORD LOADING: A new record has been set by the Mormugao Port Trust by loading 1,21,000 MT of iron ore within 24 hours on board a Japanese ship M.V. Kentriyu Maru at Berth No.9 of the Mechanical Ore Handling Plant. The agents for the vessel are Chowgules Brothers.

SEXUAL ABUSE CASE: The Bombay High Court at Goa has declined to grant special leave to the State to challenge the acquittal judgement of additional sessions judge Mapusa pertaining to German national Brinkmann Helmut on grounds that the accused has probably left the country and has reached Germany.

Feb 4:

GOA'S FIRST ZILLA POLL: The first ever Zilla Panchayat elections in Goa passed off peacefully recording 55 per cent voter turnout, for 30 seats in North Goa and 20 seats in South Goa. Goans are rather fed up with the amount of times they have to go to the polling both, as well as with the vast number of elected members that we have to put up with.

Feb 8:

MILK PRODUCTION: The Goa State Co-operative Milk Producers Union in Ponda sold milk worth over Rs.2.44 crore during 1998-99, earning for the union Rs.22,90,000. The Union also sells butter, curds, ghee and lassi.

ROBBERS GOING FOR NUTS: Cashew nuts packed in 36 tins and worth Rs.1,09,800 were robbed from the Arya Cashew products Private Limited at Priol on February 8 morning. Robbers broke into the Bicholim office of the National Insurance Company Ltd and stole Rs.6425 along with eight cheques. At the Siridao highway, thugs blocked the road with cement pipes. When a pickup arrived there at 2 am on Feb 8, the thugs descended on the driver who was trying to heave the pipes aside to make way. Fortunately, two other vehicles arrived there and the crooks took to their heels.

Feb 12:

UGLY SIDE SHOW: Village roadsides and adjoining open areas, particularly those close to the coastal places, are turning into ugly eyesores, with plastic bags, empty mineral waters, empty fast food/drink containers flying all over. These are being flung from the passing cars and buses by tourists, anywhere and anyhow. Added to this is the latest style of flat owners with vehicles, who collect their garbage and castoffs in large plastic bags, and just throw the bag anywhere along the road where no one sees them, while driving.

Feb 14:

QUALIFYING HOSPITALITY: CM Sardinha said that his Cabinet had okayed the decision to accord industry status to tourism in view of problems faced by the hospitality sector. However, the implementation will have to wait till all the modalities are worked out in detail. Water and electricity tariff for the tourism sector on par with other industries, is the main component of the proposal and it would have to continue payment of luxury and other taxes. Sardinha did not specify the financial implications or benefits to the hospitality sector.

Feb 15:

BASTORA BESTIALITY: Recently, we had heard of a woman killing one of her husbands and burying the body in the house at Bastora in Bardez. On May 1, 1992, 90-year-old Martin D'Souza was done to death at Birmottem in the same village and his adopted daughter Marianne (40) and her lover Gurudas Vishnu Pednekar had been arrested and sentenced. On Valentine's Day, Gurudas allegedly hit his Valentine (Marianne) with a stick and thinking that she was dead, burnt the body to give it the appearance of a suicide, according to his statement to the police.

Feb 16:

FATHOMING FAR: The Coast Guard finally managed to round up four Pakistani trawlers and their 40-member crew, spotted four days ago, 280 nautical miles of South-West of Goa and within the exclusive economic zone. Perhaps the quest of the Pakistani fisherfolk could be more than catching fish, an angle the local police are already investigating through interrogations.

GORGEOUS PANAJI could be the result of if CM Francisco Sardinha's wishes don't turn out to be horses...He has raised several traffic islands in the capital city after taking over, and now proposes to create sports for recreation, strolls, parking lot and to beautify the town, to attract tourists and create a healthy environment.

Feb 17:

DGP SAHAYE GOES: Following transfer orders issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Goa government relieved Goa's first Director General of Police, Rajinder Singh Sahaye, after a tenure of one year and 15 days. The top cop slot will be filled by U N B Rao, an IPS officer of the 1979 batch.

SAHAYE SAID, "A police force less than 3,000 in number has to maintain law and order in a State with a population of approximately 14 lakh. The Goa police is performing exceedingly under such limitations."

Feb 18:

POLITICIANS OUT OF POWER think better than when they warm the ruling benches and high perches. Former Union minister Eduardo Faleiro says that the pre-Portuguese monuments need protection because he finds them in a "very bad condition." Faleiro claims that the Archaeological Survey of India is only concentrating on monuments of the Portuguese period. He could be quite right.

Feb 19:

GUIMARAES ART GALLERY: The Portuguese Consulate launched its own permanent exhibition centre in Goa and named it after famous Portuguese artist Jose de Guimaraes. Portuguese Consul-General Vera Maria Fernandes said, "I hope that the Jose de Guimaraes Art Gallery will further contribute to the promotion of the visual arts in Goa, and encourage interaction between Indian and Portuguese artists."

Feb 20:

THE FIRST SALVO: Dr Wilfred de Souza of the Nationalist Congress Party has demanded the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Dayanand Narvekar, in view of the severe strictures passed against the latter by the Panjim Bench of the Bombay High Court, in connection with regularising of the services of two market inspectors of the Margao Municipal Council.

Feb 22:

PAEDOPHILE ESCAPES: Brinkman Helmut, suspected paedophile, left India on October 29, 1999, since the Immigration authorities at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, had failed to check the "Look Out Circular" (LOC) issued against Helmut by the Goa Police.

Feb 25:

SIOLIM FLARE-UP AVERTED: Tension prevailed at Vaddy in Siolim when a group of people tried to cremate the body of a person, who had died in the locality, in a disputed property adjoining residential houses, on Friday evening. The minority community objected and the situation would have ended up into a communal flare-up if the police hadn't prevailed upon the adamant group to perform the last rites a bit away from the spot, just to respect the dead.

BRITISH GIRL RAPED: The Anjuna police arrested Elias Paul, a Keralite working at a Baga shack, on the charge of raping a 19-year-old British handicapped woman. Paul, who had befriended the deaf, dumb and handicapped girl's grandmother, and on the pretext of taking the victim on a sight-seeing tour on Friday, took her to the rocks below the Baga Retreat Centre and raped her at around 7 pm. After spending some time at the restaurant, he took her to the shack and assaulted her sexually once again at 3 am.

Feb 27:

RAY OF HOPE: Two Goan youths--Noel Azavedo (Dabal, Sanguem) and Hillario Ferrao (Sulcodem, Chinchinim) are in captivity in Pakistan since March 1998, when the ship "NV Golden Harvest" drifted into Pakistan due to the Gujarat cyclone. Their families hope that the Indian authorities will try to get back their kin while deporting the crew of the four trawlers seized off the Mormugao coast.

Feb 28:

WEATHER MYTHS: According to a report in the Herald, the Director of Meteorological Department, S R Bajpai, says that his department has compiled data…to calculate the mean temperature and rainfall in Goa…which reveals that there bas been absolutely no change in the average temperatures and annual rainfall for the last 100 years. Wonder whether this is true of Goan weather which was quite cold during November-December-January until a decade ago. Even the rainfall was apparently more.