COURT’S CALL: The Panjim bench of the Bombay High Court has allowed two-week’s time to the Calangute panchayat to file a detailed affidavit on the action it proposes to take in identifying areas for desilting, building retaining walls and removal of mud in nullahs, to improve the functioning of the open rainwater drains. The action follows a petition filed by the residents of Gauravaddo in Calangute.

BACK TO SCHOOL: Four MLAs after losing in the June 4 poll, returned to their teaching profession: former Aldona MLA Fatima D’Souza (Fatima Convent), former Mapusa MLA Surendra Sirsat (returned as principal of Assagao’s DMC High Secondary School), former Pale MLA Sadanand Malik (DMC, Mapusa) and former Speaker/Calangute MLA Tomazinho Cardozo (Sacred Heart HS, Anjuna).

RELIANCE POWER: The Reliance-Salgaocar Power Limited’s Sancoale plant is slated to go operational commercially on Monday, after an official inauguration by CM Luizinho Faleiro. The naphta-based plant will sell 40 mega watts of electricity to the Goa government, from its total capacity of 48 mega watts.

KONKANI FILMS: CM Luizinho Faleiro announced that the government would shortly come out with a notification declaring the production of Konkani films as an industry. Addressing a gathering of Konkani stage artists, in connection with the setting up of a Konkani Art and Culture Complex in Margao, Faleiro said the industry status will give the artists 25 per cent subsidy.

GOAN FOR KARGIL DUTY: The CM, Luizinho Faleiro, has expressed solidarity with the armed personnel fighting in Kargil, Drass and Batalik sectors, and sent the good wishes from the Government and the people of territorial army officer from the State who called on the CM before leaving for the front.

PLANTATION SCAM: The Economic Offences Wing of the Goa Police nabbed Melvin Paes, chairman of the directors of Mehna Plantations, accused of swindling Goan investors to the tune of over Rs.1.6 crore. Paes’ arrest came in the wake of a complaint filed by Ms N C Rodrigues of Dona Paula, who had been induced into investing a sum of Rs.3,60,000 in Mehna Plantations.

JACKFRUIT TREE: Jackfruit--long neglected tree--is finally getting the attention with research throwing new light on the species which offers quality timber, fruit and fodder.

“GREATER GOA” AHOY? Ravindra Kelekar, veteran Konkani writer has demanded that the Akhil Bharatiya Konkani Parishad should put forward the demand for the inclusion of Sindhudurg from Maharashtra and Karwar from Karnataka in Goa, to fulfill the aim of “Greater Goa”.

SMELLY PROTEST: The Margao Wholesale Fish Vendors Association and the Pickup Owners Association turned true to their word by converting the space outside the Margao Municipal Council building into a fish market, in protest against the rehabilitation of the 12 kiosks along the Martins Dias Road.

SOFTWARE PARK: Software Technology Park of India is to open operations in Goa soon, initially through its Pune centre, in a bid to kick-start the fledgling software sector of Goa.

NO SMOKING IN PUBLIC: In a landmark judgment, Kerala high court banned smoking of cigarettes, cigars and beedies, in places like educational institutions, hospitals, shops, restaurants, bus-stops, railway stations and railway compartments and other public places.

HOPE FOR HARVALEM: Tourism minister Churchill Alemao pointed out that the government was directing all efforts towards developing Harvalem as a tourist spot, in reply to a query raised by Pale MLA Suresh Amonkar.

FALEIRO DARBARS: Replying to criticism over his Janata darbars, CM Faleiro said the people were getting an opportunity to interact with the bureaucrats and get their grievances redressed. He also said that he would hold darbars on a Saturday every month.

STREAMLINING ADMINISTRATION: CM Luizinho Faleiro informed the Goa Assembly that steps have been taken to streamline the administration by fixing specific deadlines to redress public grievances and speed up the process of granting applications for various documents and licences.

TRANSFER PAYS: Dempo Sports Club will be richer by a sum of Rs.1,32,000 in transfer fees after their star players Francis Silveira (Pocket), Marcus Carvalho and Santan Colaco move over to Churchill Brothers.

SPRINGING A NEW LOOK: The ‘Ana Fonte’ spring at Pajifond in Margao is due for a new look with the government’s decision to acquire 5,094 sq mt of land around the spring. The Ana Fonte water is known to have medicinal properties and people from different parts of South Goa visit the place, where the Portuguese government had constructed separate bathrooms for men and women.

“CHOICE” WHISKY SEIZED: About 240 cartons containing about 48 bottles each of “Original Choice” whisky were seized by the Excise Department at Chamuddi-Dramapur in Salcete. Baffling indeed, to find that the liquor supposed to have been manufactured in a Bangalore-based distillery, and is meant for sale only in Karnataka, was found in Goa.

LAVEENA SEQUEL: Mystery surrounding Laveena Raiturkar’s death took a new twist on Saturday since the husband of the deceased, Dr Sailesh Raiturkar, injected himself in an alleged suicide bid. He was found lying unconscious at his Margao clinic.

WAITING FOR JOBS: In a reply to MLA Pandurang Raut in the Assembly session, Labour minister Narvekar said that over 65,000 names of candidates seeking jobs figure on the live register of the Employment Exchange; 40,658 names are from North Goa and 24,542 from South Goa.

VEHICLE POPULATION: Vehicle ownership in Goa, which was 66,000 in 1985, shot up to 2.80 lakh in December 1998. On an average 25,000 new vehicles are being added to the traffic every year...On an average 280 road accidents occur in Goa every year, resulting in 222 casualties.

ISLAND SURVEY: CM Luizinho assured the Goa Assembly yesterday that the government would survey the new islands fringed by mangroves in the Mandovi river estuary, opposite the Chorao ferry point, and protect the mangroves species.

COKE IN THE HOUSE: The abrupt stoppage of water supply to the Coca Cola plant at Verna fanned a furore in the Goa legislative Assembly on Wednesday, with Industries minister Churchill Alemao unable to provide a convincing reply.

NIGHT FLIGHTS: The Defence Ministry has finally given the green signal to allow commercial traffic at night at the Dabolim airport. The Airport Authority of India has decided to provide the necessary infrastructure to open up Dabolim Airport for commercial traffic by night but it’s to be seen whether the AAI will make the investment to create the necessary support facility.

Around 12,288 civil cases and 4,411 criminal cases are pending in the several session and district courts of South Goa till June.

The state experienced rapid mechanisation in fishing craft over the five years. This has resulted in over 1,100 fishing vessels with around 300 of these engaged in pursening an around 1,100 country craft and canoes eith out board motors engaged in gill net fishing, exploiting the rich demersal and pelagic resources of the inshore areas.

AIDS IN GOA: Health minister Francisco Sardinha informed the Goa Assembly that 73 AIDS cases have been reported in Goa up to June 1999, with Mormugao accounting for 509 HIV positive patients, Tiswadi with 397, Salcete with 313 and Bardez with 219. The total number of HIV sero-positive cases so far have risen to 2411, though only 1647 persons were found at the addresses given.

COMPULSORY SUBJECT: CM Luizinho Faleiro says that the government will introduce one compulsory subject on environment safety in the school curriculum right from the primary level. Faleiro was speaking at a function on environment organised by Carmel College in Nuvem.

ELECTRONIC GOVERNANCE: CM Luizinho Faleiro on Saturday said that his government was determined to usher in an electronic governance and steps in this direction have been proposed in the current year’s budget. As part of the computer literacy plan a provision of Rs 1 crore has been made to acquire computers in the schools.

EDUARDO ELECTED: As expected Eduardo Faleiro of the Congress was elected to the Rajya Sabha, defeating his Goa Rajiv Congress Party opponent Bhavanishankar Gadnis, by a sweeping margin 24-12. But four MLAs (MGP ones) were missing when an important function of the Assembly was going on.

MANY A CRORE: The House passed the Goa Appropriations Bill, 1999, consisting of Rs.1,520.72 crore on revenue account and Rs.396.52 crore on capital account, including public debt, and loans and advances for the current financial year. It allows the government to appropriate Rs.1,917.25 crore.

AGUADA MANSION: Jimmy Gazdar house, designed by architect Gerard da Cunha, near the Central Jail in Aguada, is the prominent entry in the famed “Indian Interiors” book, published by the German publishers Taschen. Price at Rs.2,200 this 319-page book is the Indian counterpart of the series which includes “Paris Interiors” and “Moroccan Interiors”. In the “Outlook” review, “Jimmy’s Palace” has been described as an exotic synthesis of gargoyles, Manueline architecture, Tuscan facades, Spanish steps and Venetian arches,”

WATER FILTRATION AFFECTED: Due to unprecedented heavy and incessant rains in this season, the turbidity of river water has gone up tremendously. Since the water is used for drinking water supply after treatment, the high turbidity has resulted in lower efficiency of the filtration plants, particularly in North Goa.

HARBOUR’S HERITAGE HOTEL: Mormugao Port Trust has initiated efforts to revive the Old Palace Hotel at berth number four of the Mormugao Harbour. The hotel, which has a long historical background being run once by the Madras Southern Maratha Railway and Spencer & Co, will be given to interested parties on a 30-year BOT contract.