What about the big guns??

Have we heard the last of the Atala, Dudu and gang's connections with the men-in-uniform?

Ever since this police-drug mafia (and media?) nexus drama unfolded, half-a-dozen policemen including one of the rank of police inspector have been netted. It's been three weeks now. And there's no more. Shocking!

Even more shocking is the Home Minister Ravi Naik admitting in the just concluded Assembly session that there exists no inventory of the drugs seized and stored in the Goa Police godown. And, he said it in typical Ravi Naik style -- cool as a cucumber.

Now, now. If there's no inventory, how does the Crime Branch hope to account for the drugs lying in the godown and prove the charge against their men currently behind bars, beats me. Someone high up there in the corridors of the Police Headquarters is seemingly preparing ground for the incarcerated policemen to go scot-free. Or else, are we to believe that this cartel of policemen doing business with the drug mafia was headed by a Police Inspector-ranked officer with a mere five from the constabulary for company? What happened to the DySP at the ANPS and the SP that headed it? Were they merely sucking thumbs when 'Camin', Husain and the rest ganged up with Ashish to dispose the contraband from the godowns?

Many expected more heads to roll, but they didn't. Early reports suggested that some members of the media also stood in the gallery of rogues. But it all seems to have been swept under the carpet and six it is that the powers have decided will be the police toll, and no more!

CM Digambar Kamat said, there's no report that journos are involved. But neither he nor DGP Bhim Sain Bassi are willing to deny on record, the complicity of media persons in the case. Kamat said two weeks ago, that he will make a statement after he gets a 'full report' of the case which he has asked the Chief Secretary to obtain from the cops. And, Bassi on his part says all will be revealed "when the time is right". So, let's wait. Endlessly if need be.

Apartheid?

Such advertising boards reserving services for 'foreigners only' aren't uncommon in Goa's coastal villages drunk with the mollah to be made from the tourism trade. Photo courtesy: William Rodrigues

Northern ‘Paradise’

Perhaps for the first time since it took shape in the early part of the current decade, this 'paradise' in the north from where a top industrial scion was hounded out in the run-up to the Millenium New Year eve extravaganza, ceased to be a paradise. Alas only for a day though.

Director General of Police, Bhim Sain Bassi, apparently heaped with complaints, decided to see for himself. He along with Superintendent of Police (North) Bosco George, took a night tour of the northern coastal belt. And lo! Bassi heard for himself the blast.

Enraged, the top cop blew his top sending his subordinates reeling for cover. Left with no option, the SP ordered the Anjuna Police Station in-charge to rush and shut down the 'Paradise'. He was also asked to book a case against the night spot.

Bassi meanwhile happens to be the first IPS officer to crack the whip on this 'Paradise' in the north, where the son of a former Union Minister regularly rubbed shoulders with the ravers. Incidentally the 'Paradise' operates on government property owned by the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) for free!

Apparently, the owner, began operating the place using his proximity to the then CM after the Bombay Dyeing Scion was hounded out for proposing 24-hour raves, seven days a week. The raves have been continuing at the 'Paradise' since then, and the GTDC has got nothing, absolutely nothing!

And all that the GTDC has done is merely issue notices a couple of times, once as recently as two weeks ago.

Jairam!

Another reason to hail the Environment Minister of our country. Jairam Ramesh has delivered on his promise and somewhat silenced my friend and teacher Matanhy Saldanha from continuing to 'champion' the cause of Goa's 'poor' fishermen.

Ramesh has written a lengthy letter to Goa CM, and in it, has opened a huge window of hope to save the 'dwellings' of coastal residents from the demolitions threatening them.

But alas, it's uncertain whether Ramesh's stance will satisfy Goa's politicos because it seemingly gives protection only to the 'aam admi' and not the 'khas aadmi' who run the thousands of commercial establishments in the CRZ's 'no development zones'.

Jai-Ramesh!

Of mosquitoes, musketeers and repellants

Ever since he burst into mainstream politics in the 1980s, Churchill-bab's gaffes have attained the status of folklore -- his 'On Fatorda Ground' retort to Anupam Ghulati live on National TV is unforgettable. But now, that one will just fade away from memory with the Varca strongman's 'who are these three mosquitoes' classic of last week.

What did he exactly say?

Did he say who are these "three mosquitoes" or did he say who are these "three musketeers", drawing inspiration from the famous novel of Alexandre Dumas?

Several peers who attended that press conference in Margao swear that Churchill said the former. But there are a few who say he said "musketeers" and one English daily that shares a stronghold with Churchill, reported thus.

But whatever he said, either way, it suited his cause. And, the damage he wanted to do, was done.

The remark sent the musketeers/mosquitoes and their four companions in the 'Group of Seven' musketeers/mosquitoes in a tizzy, five of who are ministers. They boycotted the cabinet and let out an even shriller tantrum -- threatening to defeat the government in the House if Churchill-bab does not tender the 'celebrated apology'.

But the weekend saw another winged specie -- the Aviator Praful Patel -- pour cold water on all the musketeers/mosquitoes plans for vengeance, at a Sunday night dinner meeting in Mumbai. And now, all the issues, deals and wheels are to be sorted out on the eve of 'All Fools Day'.

The repellant effect

The debate on whether Churchill said 'mosquitoes' or 'musketeers' may go on for some more time but there's another indicator (apart from what a majority of journos heard and reported on ground zero) that makes me believe it was indeed 'mosquitoes'. Because, Churchill's comment worked like an instant repellant on one of the most wiliest of the G7.

Many of his predecessors may have been stung by the female version of a particular mosquito that stung mayhem in Goa's health sector for decades, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane scooted off to the land of Ayurveda no sooner Churchill's mosquitoes swarmed all over the papers the next morning.

The dimunitive scion of Sattari was conspicuous by his absence and his conversation in spurts on the speaker-phone at Transport Minister Sudin Dhavlikar's official residence, didn't sound very convincing to many a journo present there.

Jai Ramesh!

He may not be a darling of the media. In fact, he's been the butt of their criticism as hard stands he's taken on some macro-policy issues have triggered immense debate and negative publicity. But be it BT Brinjal, India's position at the Global Climate Talks or his hard stance on mining, Jairam Ramesh, has indeed acted firm and as the country's Environment Minister should.

Obviously, his two year ban on BT Brinjal must've hit the BT lobby, which is rumoured to have its tentacles spread high up there in Delhi's highest corridors, where it hurts most -- their coffers. So, the bad press isn't too intriguing. But for us here in Goa, his hard stand on mining is what matters and is rumoured to be one of the reasons for the mayhem in the political arena.

Apparently somebody very powerful recently bought an old, unoperated mine from a mining family and forwarded to the government the file to start mining there. It reached the desk of a top-gun in the government who sat on it far too long for the 'powerful' somebody's liking. The file finally got sent to Delhi for the statutory clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest, where unfortunately for the 'powerful somebody', it got vetoed by Jairam Ramesh, who instead shot off a letter to the State imposing a moratorium on all new mines till such time as the state formally adopts a 'Mining Policy'. Upset with these turn of events, the 'powerful somebody' is said to have ignited the political fire.

Will it work? Unlikely, with Ramesh around.

At war again!

All the pretence has now been exposed. It's finally out there in the open that there is no lasting understanding, deal, or whatever you call it, between the Alemaos and Mickky. The war of words at the fag-end of last week's cabinet meeting clearly said so. In fact if tongues were fists, quite a few ministers would have been black-eyed today.

Unfortunately, there's a woman (and it can't be a minister because Diggu's team does not have any), in south Goa who's ended up with not just a black eye, but a whole black face.

Mickky's out-of-the-box advances on Salcete's political turf through the Zilla Parishad elections provoked the initially-caught-napping Congress Salcetians, including Churchill, Joaquim, Aleixo Sequeira and Felipe Neri Rodrigues into a real big fight and the victim in the bargain happened to be Nelly Rodrigues.

The former South Goa ZP chairperson, though elected unopposed has completely lost out in the end game and is left with only Mickky for mercy. Not a very enticing situation for the Jr College lecturer, especially with Sister Farrel firmly entrenched in the decision-making mechanism of Churchill-led ministries!

This latest bout has also left the Group of Seven (G-7) open to retaliatory fire from the Congressmen. As they say, politics in Goa can never get dull. And, trust the politicos that come from Salcete to give it the muscle and colour, it so often wears!

Women’s reservation v/s Mandalisation?
Last week the world celebrated the Centenary of World Women's Day and India's Upper House scripted the first stanza of a chapter in its history book with the passage of the Women's Bill in the Rajya Sabha, despite the Yadav hiccup on Women's day itself. But there still is a long way to go before reservation for women in the country's highest decision-making corridors -- Parliament and State legislatures -- becomes a constitutional reality.

The Yadavs, who came to attain goliathian stature on the national political canvass post-Mandalisation -- Lalu, Mulayam and Sharad -- will do everything in their might to raise hurdles in the House of People.

Obviously, they (the Yadavs) sense that the quota for women will dent the advantage that VP Singh's mandalisation gave them, and therefore, their demand for quota within the women's quota for dalits, OBCs and Muslims. They will not buy the argument that they should let the Women's Bill pass for now and get their concerns for backwards and the 'quota within quota' tackled later. Because, the veterans that they are, the Yadav trio knows only too well that if it (quota within quota) doesn't happen now, it will never happen.

Take Goa's case for instance. About the time when Justice Kuldip Singh Gill and his team at the Delimitation Commission was holding public hearings on the exercise here in Goa, the Government of India issued the notification including the Gawdas, Khunbis and Velips in the Central List of Scheduled Tribes. So, if the reservation law was to be followed in letter and spirit, then like Dhargalim (now 'Pernem' in the post-delimitation era) at least another four to five seats should have gone reserved. A plea was made but it fell on deaf ears at the Delimitation Commission's hearings. Now, it's unlikely to happen in any hurry.

It isn't therefore surprising that Prakash Velip of the BJP has raised the 'quota within quota' banner here in Goa. For, without a quota, they stand no chance of being nominated to any seat even if numbers favour them. Take the last elections for instance. Cortalim, Loutolim, Curtorim and Fatorda, the four seats that have huge ST populations saw all the major contending political parties -- Congress, BJP and Save Goa Front/ UGDP -- nominate upper-caste candidates.
For the women here in Goa, (I mean the political women ie A's wife, B's sister, C's daughter and D's daughter-in-law) meanwhile it will be a bonanza! Donno if it'll help the Norma Alvareses, the Sabina Martins, the Albertina Almeidas, the Shanti Maria Fonsecas and the others of their ilk though.

CCP self-goal?
On Sunday, Leader of Opposition, Manohar Parrikar, tried his hand at dinner diplomacy with journos. He, along with the half-a-dozen Corporation of the City of Panjim (CCP) corporators owing allegiance to him and the BJP hosted a press conference followed by dinner at the Mandovi.

The theme?: Obviously Elections 2011.

Led by Portais's Menino D'Cruz, the corporators ranted and raved in the presence of their mentor, about the scams and mess in the CCP over the last four years of their tenure. Market scam, parking scam, 'ghost workers' scam, etc., etc. In the next one year, they said they will launch a public awareness campaign to sensitise the Capital's citizenry about the goings-on in the CCP, as if the poor aam admi doesn't already know.

Clearly, Parrikar knows he's band of men and women in the CCP have fared miserably in making a mark. Much of the credit for exposing most of the scams his corporators are now raving about, lies in the pocket of his long time rival Surendra Furtado and the 'Chanakya' of Goan politics it seems is hoping to neutralise this with the year long mass contact campaign he and his corporators unveiled on Sunday. Too little too late?

Tailpiece
The ghost has indeed disappeared. Six months after Urban Development Minister Joaquim Alemao promised of action on the floor of the House in the 'ghost workers' scam at the CCP, there's none of it.

Dark blot on Goa’s media

It's not for nothing that that they say the 'five Ps' -- politician, policeman, preacher (priest), pleader (lawyer) and pressman -- should not be trusted. Here in Goa, we had this police-press-drug peddlars drama playing out over the last week-and-a-half which proves why at least two of the Ps -- policeman and pressman -- cannot be trusted. The two main actors in this drama ironically both Israelis, David alias Dudu and one Atala, have spilled the beans.

It's another story that it's yet to be proved that their beans are real or fake but Atala's story of police-drugs nexus has already claimed the scalp of five policemen who have been promptly suspended by the government.

What's disturbing, however, is why's Dudu's story of police-pressmen-drugs nexus not claiming the victims it should. Dudu, who's been painted by our Police (again one of the Ps that cannot be trusted) as 'Alexandre the Great' of Goa Tourism's narcotic underbelly, has told officers interrogating him that he had cops and pressmen as well 'covering' for him for much of the twelve years he's done business in Goa. The police and the government, however, haven't displayed the same enthusiasm to act on Dudu's disclosures as they did with Atala's, who's video-clip on YouTube incidentally is yet to be authenticated beyond reasonable doubt.

Dudu besides naming a Police Inspector-ranked official has also reportedly disclosed that three journalists, including one former editor, played footsie with him. These disclosures have been widely reported in the local media albeit without naming names, perhaps because no sufficiently ranked officer, not even the DGP, is willing to come on record with the names.

Surprise of surprise is that there's no reaction whatsoever from Goa's sole professional media body -- the Goa Union of Journalists on this real life drama. For god's sake, it's put a huge blot on journalists working here in Goa. The damage is done. Let's control it, if it cannot be undone, by identifying the black sheep and weeding them out. The DGP's 'We will act on Dudu's disclosures when the time is right' is no good. The time is right Mr DGP now. And, in the backdrop of the cops-journos clash over the former's visit to a floating casino that went the journos' way, what better opportunity to get back than this?

Man v/s Woman?

Yesterday was International Women's Day and our newsroom was flooded with press releases from this women's organisation and that women's organisation from across the state describing to the minute detail, functions organised by them to commemorate the day. One that caught my eye, and perhaps exemplifies the intra-party squabbles within the Congress party, was the one sent in by the media-saavy GPCC General Secretary, Vijai Sardessai, about a 'Pre-Women's Day' programme organised in Fatorda.

"Only Congress Party will deliver on its promises to the women of the country," began the press note quoting GPCC president Subhash Shirodkar. It also quotes a plethora of other Congress functionaries praising their own tail over women's empowerment and welfare, including how Sonia Gandhi has ensured that two important Constitutional positions in the country -- President and Speaker of Lok Sabha -- are held by women.

Then there's this bit of information in it: "Goa Pradesh Youth Congress vice-president Adv Pratima Coutinho commended Vijai Sardessai for supporting women's causes in Fatorda and urged him to serve the people by initiating development," that betrayed the very purpose of the programme -- to further the political objectives of one Congressman at the cost of another. Because at the function, organised by the Fatorda Women Welfare Association, there was no place for the respectable Congresswoman Monica Dias, who incidentally is also from Fatorda!

As Madam Sonia so often says and more recently the Congress' Crown Prince Rahul said: 'Congress does not need an Opposition to defeat it. The Congress itself defeats the Congress'. How true!

April Fool joke in February!

It's been an amusing seven days on the political front here in Goa. While Ali Baba and his 40 thieves engaged in a tu-tu-mein-mein for the big prize in politics -- a position in the state cabinet -- somebody in the Department of Information, decided to pre-pone 'All Fools Day' from April 1 to February 26!

At about 4 pm on Friday the 26th of February, text messages came streaming in on mobile sets informing journos of a 'swearing-in ceremony' at the Raj Bhavan that evening, which eventually however was not to be! The source of these messages was the Department of Information, an arm of the state administration that's not as well known for its efficiency as it is for its intra-office politics. Interestingly, minutes after these messages, the journos were addressed by Chief Minister Digambar Kamat himself, who waxed eloquent over how good the Union budget presented that day in Parliament by Pranab Mukherjee was and blah, blah, blah....but there was not a word spoken on the so called 'swearing-in'. Obviously this prompted the journos to specifically question the CM, and to their surprise, the CM was surprised, at least he said so. 'Where's the vacancy to swear-in anybody' was the CM's terse reply. And, even as he had said this, another message came through from the Information Department informing journos that transport to the Raj Bhavan had been arranged from near the Information Department premises at 6 pm to transport the media persons for the ceremony. Now this had the CM really red-faced, who however managed to explain off the episode with a mere shrug of his shoulders. 'There is going to be no swearing-in' he kept insisting, and indeed there wasn't. So, Madkaikar, Narvekar and co had to wait for the real 'Fools Day' this year, or perhaps will it be next year?

Pawar-play

What the events of last Friday demonstrated, meanwhile, was the political muscle of Union Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar. Apparently, Diggu and the Congress bigwigs had made up their mind to revert to 'status-quo ante' when Sudhin Dhavlikar and Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate walked into the cabinet at the expense of Madkaikar and Narvekar respectively. The High Command too is said to have given its green signal to the move. But then Dhavlikar launched himself into survival mode and triggered Speaker Pratapsing Rane into action. Rane Sr confronted Diggu over his move but that hadn't worked much. What did, however, was Dhavlikar's knocking the doors at Krishi Bhavan in Delhi. Apparently, Pawar was upset that Diggu had taken the decision to cut down the 'allies' share in the government here in Goa unilaterally, and swung into action to scuttle the swearing-in. So, in the 15 minutes between 4 pm and 4.15 pm, Diggu was flooded with calls from Delhi instructing him not to go ahead with the swearing-in.

Post-script

Tumkam sanje anik voddli khobor assa', this is how an aide of CM Diggu, himself a former editor greeted one of the journos who had arrived at the official Altinho residence of the Chief Minister to cover whatever he had to say on the Union budget. Obviously, this lanky former editor was referring to the planned cabinet reshuffle, and inadvertently, confirming that the biggest fool was not at the edifice near the Azad Maidan which houses the Department of Information, but actually at the CM's bungalow in Altinho!

Just talk!

It's been almost three weeks since Ravi Shetgaonkar, the taxi driver from Morjim, died from injuries he sustained in the brawl with a Russian businessman. Yet, there has been no sign of any action from any quarter to aid his grieving family. It's shocking that despite all the pro-Goan brouhaha raised by the Morjimkars, politicians, all and sundry in the aftermath of Ravi's death, his family is yet to receive any aid, either in cash or kind from anybody. Not a single naya paisa has reached his unemployed widow or his two children, one of whom is hearing and speech impaired, and a student of the Sanjay School.

So much for our Goenkarponn. Just talk!

Having said that, the villagers of Morjim need to be complimented. At the gram sabha held last Sunday (February 21), they decided to open a bank account for the family by raising donations. Would be prudent for the villagers to open this account at a bank in Porvorim from where the legal brains of the Russian Consulate functions from.

‘Flying coffins’ grounded

Finally, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has grounded its fleet of nearly 100 MIG-27 aircrafts which had for long come to be touted 'flying coffins' for the number of pilots the machine has cost the force. Incidentally, this was the same aircraft that claimed the life of Wing Cdr Oswald de Abreu who died when his aircraft's engine caught fire soon after take off. The decision to ground the Russian-made aircraft came about 10 days after Abreu's ill-fated flight and barely days before one of IAF's biggest air power demo which was ultimately held at Pokhran minus the MIG-27s last Sunday.

Flying coffins

Last week was tragic for Goa and I'm sure it must have made moist the eyes all blue-blooded Goans, instantly. First, came the news that Wing Cdr Oswald de Abreu had perished in an IAF MIG-27 crash at his Hashimara base in West Bengal, and the very same day, Rohidas Shetgaokar, the cabbie from Morjim who was brutally assaulted by a Russian 'businessman' a week ago had breathed his last at the GMC.

Oswald was a contemprary of mine both in school at Don Bosco's and at Dhempe's. I do not qualify to be called his 'friend' because we completely lost contact with each other after leaving college. I wasn't even aware that he had joined the Indian Air Force (IAF) until, by a strange coincidence, we bumped into each other on the streets of Panjim as recently as in December 2009. During that brief five-minute conversation, he seemed an extremely satisfied and proud member of our defence forces. He even told me that he was "doing exceedingly well" and was due for a promotion soon. So, when the news of his tragic death came in on Tuesday evening, it was indeed a shock. But, it's not my personal tryst with Osie that has inspired me to pen these lines. Rather, it's the thought that my tribe has shamefully failed this valiant son of Goa, by being mute spectators at the ceremony held at INS Hansa to induct another variant of the MIG -- MIG-29 -- into the Indian Navy, instead of grilling the big guns there on the 'flying coffins'.

Around the same time that Wing Cdr Oswald de Abreu was being given the final adieu at St Inez church and cemetry, the country's Defence Minister AK Antony was waxing eloquence about the MIGs and of plans to buy more of these for the Indian Navy at INS Hansa-Dabolim where all and sundry from the fourth estate lapped it all up with not a word on the aircrafts which have for long come to be called 'flying coffins'.

Rahul: Flatters to deceive?

Over the last year or so, there has been so much hype and hoopla about Rahul Gandhi's reforms in the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) and the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the grand old party's frontal organisations which he commandeers as the 'crown prince' and AICC general secretary. Indeed, his road-shows, unconventional methodologies in enrolling new members or electing office-bearers, etc., etc., were seemingly a refreshing change from the Congress party's lethargic reliance on political heirs. Unfortunately, however, at the crucial final bend he has faltered....err.... flattered to deceive.

When it came to breasting the tape, Rahulji just dumped all the fundas and embraced the long-followed doctrine in his political party -- handpick a 'political heir' for the top prize.

Last week came the news that Rajiv Satav, an MLA from Maharashtra has been 'appointed' the IYC chief. Quite a dampner from all the hype and hoopla generated by Rahulji with his 'democratic processes' including the 'Aam Admi ka Sipahi' programme. Yet, it could still have been admirable if Satav was the son of an 'aam admi' or of the ilk of Kalavati, the farm widow whose cause he so eloquently espoused in Parliament, during the debate on the N-deal confidence vote. Instead, it turns out that Satav comes from this new caste that's come to dominate India, its politics, society, economy, etcetera, etcetera -- POLITICIANS. His mother, Rajnitai Satav, is a former minister of Maharashtra. What an anti-climax!

Unsung hero

It's over a month since he passed away and barring a condolence meet and a few other elougies, there has been not much said about this illustrious son of Goa. Dr Bailon de Sa, was indeed a man of great achievements. I've not known him from too close except for a couple of chance meetings, but I admired the guts of the man who literally ploughed a lone farrow and stood his ground against the might of a Chief Minister in a fight that he unfortunately lost to retain the 'independence' of the Institute Menezes Braganza.

To recall that bout of the late 1990s, the state government abruptly issued a 'decree' that it was taking over the Institute Menezes Braganza. The unsavoury sequel to this was a stiff but unsuccessful resistance to the move put up by Dr de Sa. The government explained that it was taking over the institute ostensibly because it was "tying up with colonial forces" (sic) apparently because the insitute had inked a deal with Fundacao Oriente to renovate the edifice. Months later the government itself tied up with the Macao-funded Fundacao Oriente to refurbish the Police headquarters, Customs House, old High Court building and many more such projects!!

Not many know the real story that provoked the administration of the day to take the drastic step of taking over the Institute. As a greenhorn journo then, I was assigned the story by my boss at The Navhind Times. Thus I was privy to the real provocation for the government's decision which was: Dr Bailon de Sa's refusal to part with the Institute's piano which the then Chief Minister had requested be shifted to the Kala Academy. And, a whole cabinet just watched as mute spectators when the CM had his way, like a copy-book despot.

Dr de Sa may have lost that battle with judiciary giving the government's decision a stamp of approval by 'dismissing' his writ petition, but he nevertheless displayed the guts that we Goans so often lack to stand up against the powers that be for a cause. Unfortunately, not one luminary who called themselves friends of Dr de Sa had the onions to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him and be counted in the fight against the CM and his government. On the contrary, some connived with the enemy and meekly accepted positions to manage the institute after the government took it over!

Mining policy: What’s in it for Goa's Aam Aadmi

In a week or two, when the cabinet meets again next, Goa will for the first time have a 'mining policy' after five decades of a handful of 'privileged few' having shovelled out more than half of the state's iron-ore rich soil. But at least better late than never, and to that extent, Digambar, who has the distinction of being Goa's 'Mines Minister' for eleven years on a trot since he first became minister in 1999, deserves a pat on the back for whatever the policy will be worth.

But then, what's in the mining policy for Goa's 'aam admi' who's Diggubab's favourite? Nothing but for dust in the breath and the taste of mud in the mouth! 'Jobs' the mine owners would scream. It's the 'back-bone' of the Goan economy the many mining-friendly politicos would second. An 'economy' which earns the State government peanuts if anything in taxes and royalty.

Not very long ago when economic liberalisation came to be heralded as the path to prosperity, many of the mining industry's captains here in Goa jumped on to this bandwagon. 'Corporatise' the government and its functioning to meet the challenges of economic liberalisation, was their refrain at the many GCCI-sponsored seminars and talks. Can we ask them now, almost two decades later, to do the same through the 'mining policy'? 'Corporatise' all of Goa's private limited mining companies. Throw them public in a semi-nationalisation mode with the state compulsorily holding a stake. Will anyone in the cabinet give this a thought and propose for incorporation in the 'mining policy' that it will ratify at the next meet. After all there's been enough of private profit for these five decades and more from the natural resources of Goa, perhaps the only state of India where iron-ore mining is 100 per-cent privatised, thanks in a way to the legacy of the Portuguese!

Can Carnival shed politics?

There always is so much brouhaha before, during and after carnival about carnival, that every year the event itself turns out to be a damp squib. There sure is a whole load of colour, splendour, music, dance, legs and off course tonnes of money to make for the many 'stake-holders' but it just does not have that 'oomph' it used to once have. The zing, which used to come with the spontaenity of Goans' participation in Carnivals of yore, is extinct. The result: floats that espouse politically correct green messages but in most cases put up or sponsored by the very perpetrators of atrocities against Mother Earth. The hypocrisy oozes.

For instance, there was this float sponsored by the 'eco club' of a blue-chip IT company from where an announcer kept ranting eco messages such as: 'Save trees' and 'Do not cut trees'. Cool. But as the float kept rolling along the DB Marg, it had for its backdrop this huge monstrosity jutting out of the lush green Betim hill on the other bank of the Mandovi. Incidentally, this monstrosity was built on the pulp of hundreds of trees by the Housing arm of this blue-chip IT firm's parent company. It's this hypocrisy that carnival has come to personify these last few years that's robbed the festival of the 'oomph' it once possessed.

Perhaps if all the bench-strength po-li-ti-ci-ans that go to make up the organising committees of carnival in the major cities are ejected then the festival could limp back to its past glory. For, as Remo's famous lyric goes, Po-li-ti-ci-ans donno rock 'n' roll!

Skipped the show

The names of the guys who make headlines every now and then chasing butterflies, snakes and frogs are conspicuously missing from the attendance rolls at the best chance Goa had till date to give the tiger his due. With attempts being made by two powerful Sattari satraps and a top forest department official to put Goa's most respected wildlide conservationist Rajendra Kerkar in the dock as an 'abettor' in the tiger poaching case, not one of the so-called greens have flexed their green thumbs to save Goa's only legit avtar of Sunder Lal Bahuguna. Stores selling organic food & coir mats or taking lessons on garbage management from some random 'berg' in Sweden may not be Kerkar's cup of tea but the man has red earth and probably a torn blade of grass stuck between his thumbnail and the coarse flesh beneath it.

As for the snakes who masquerade as greens, perhaps its time to go after them with stick-and-drum and chase them out from the weeds into the clear... for all to see.

Austerity? What’s that?

On New Year's eve, Union health minister Gulam Nabi Azad was seen all red-faced at the Delhi airport. The reason? He was taking a flight to Goa business class. No reason to be red-faced though, except that his boss and his boss's mom -- Sonia Gandhi and Mama Paula Maino -- were also on the same flight, flying economy. Embarassing indeed for Azad, specially when the austerity measures imposed by UPA-II and Sashi Tharoor's 'cattle class' tweet, were in the news.

A similar scene happened on the same Delhi-Goa route last week at the Dabolim airport. Except that this time, the man who should have been embarassed, wasn't.

Power Minister Aleixo Sequeira was flying to Delhi on an Indian flight. Sharing the plane with him was Information and Publicity Secretary, Narendra Kumar, but they didn't meet or greet. For, the former flew economy and the latter was way in front -- business class. All at Diggubab's favourite aam admi's cost!

It's a tiger! (February 09, 2010)

Finally, as 'Big Goenkar' Rajendra Kerkar said, the truth has prevailed. Reports from the forensic lab of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, have confirmed that one of the samples (reportedly the hair) of the cat killed at Sattari last year is that of a tiger.

Kerkar, perhaps Goa's only sincere green, was convinced it was a tiger. This foot-soldier of Mother Earth has for years been telling us that the Goa section of the Western Ghats is a 'tiger corridor' but no one, including the Goa Forest Department ever took him seriously. He's even collected droppings and other tell-tale evidences and presented them to the Forest department, but it has all been mere water on a duck's back for all these years.

So now that there is scientific and authentic evidence that the animal killed is indeed a tiger, will the ostriches in the Forest department wake up and act? Doesn't seem like. For, no sooner the report came in from Dehradun, sighting Goa's Chief Conservator of Forests, Dr Shashi Kumar, turned even more difficult than sighting the striped cat itself. But four months ago, when a preliminary report that came in from Dehradun said the sample tested didn't belong to a tiger, it was Dr Kumar himself who went to town with the findings.

Small fish, big deal

Last week, almost every newspaper front-paged the report of a lowly peon in the Civil Registrar's office at Junta House in the capital city having been booked for corruption charges. According to the Vigilance Cell, Falcao was booked for taking bribes to speed up issuance of certificates -- birth, marriage or death -- by the office of the Civil Registrar. According to PI Rajesh Kumar of the Vigilance Cell, who conducted the raid, Falcao was caught with a few certificates and Rs 2,000 in cash, which the poor fellow could not account for.

Kudos to the vigilance cell! It appears the Digambar Kamat dispensation is on a mission to weed out corruption from the system and give us super-clean governance. Except that in accomplishing this mission, the government is zeroing in on the piddly sole fish at the bottom and allowing the killer sharks and whales have a field day at the top. So, a Falcao with all of Rs 2,000 in his pocket gets netted and the big guys who splash Rs 1.6-crore worth SUVs as birthday gifts for their kids, live on. Wonder why the Vigilance sleuths couldn't look beyond their nose and the peon Falcao at the Civil Sub-Registrar's office and catch the top guns there, who charge four-figure sums for simple registration of land sale and lease deeds!

Blackmail at fest of ideas!?!

Yesterday, the third edition of the DD Kossambi festival of ideas began with an expectedly brilliant discourse from Girish Karnad. But before it did, we journos were treated to a 'festival of ideas' of a different hue -- media blackmail. Sometime around noon, my peers and I got provocative text messages from a senior colleague heaping expletives at the organisers of the real 'festival of ideas'. Something to the effect that the media should boycott it because the "Art & Culture department (the organisers) has decided not to allow tv channels to record" the full proceedings.

Nosy that we journos are, some of us decided to probe a little deeper and get to the bottom of this entire controversy. It so turned out that one famous Goan journo, who heads a local TV channel, had approached the Director of Art & Culture, Prasad Lolyenkar, with a proposal to cover the festival live for a total sum of Rs 1.25-lakh. The proposal was flatly turned down by Lolyenkar. Incidentally the same TV channel, which like all its sister channels here in Goa are "illegal entities" according to Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, was paid a whopping Rs 10-lakh by the Digambar Kamat dispensation for similar 'live' and 'dead' coverage of the International Film Festival of India last December.

CRZ demolitions: might is right?

The demolition of illegal structures along Goa's coast which began after the Bombay High Court at Goa fixed a deadline for the state government to raze down these structures is getting skewed. Some 480-odd structures were listed as 'illegal' under the CRZ regulations by the coastal panchayats during the course of a long drawn proceeding before the High Court. The latter finally ordered that these be demolished, some time in December. And, it gave the administration one months time to start the demolitions.

But there was also left wide open, a window of hope. The High Court gave the owners of these 'illegal' structures the option to approach the many quasi-judicial courts and get their structures adjudicated for their legality or illegality within a month. It's now three weeks since the state administration's two demolition squads -- North Goa and South Goa -- have been bull-dozing the 'illegal' structures in the No Development Zone. And the worst fears have come true. Prima facie, the profile of the owners and of the structures which have been demolished and those that have managed to survive the CRZ axe, is indicative of how the wealthy and influential have managed to obtain stays from the many quasi-judicial courts manned by bureaucrats. While, in several cases huts used to store fishing nets and canoes have got demolished.

In fact, there is this case in a coastal Salcete panchayat where a hotel only got partly demolished. Why? Because a Nationalised Bank, which had lent money to this hotel's owner, managed to get a stay on the demolition from one of the quasi-judicial courts because it had not yet recovered all its dues from the borrower. Under which provision of law? The Securitisation Act?

Three weeks of demolitions and only 250 of the over 480 structures originally marked illegal and condemned for demolition, have been razed. For god's sake, these are structures in the No Development Zone. Logically, either all go or none go.

Housing dreams

It’s not for kicks that thousands had poured onto the streets in Panjim, exactly three years ago, to protest against the Regional Plan 2011. And, hundreds of xit-koddi and fish eating Goenkars aren’t raising anarchic voices against the real estate mayhem across Goa’s countryside at gram sabhas, for nothing. The ‘aam admi’ has figured out the writing on the wall. Anything and everything developed or built around them is priced beyond their means. Goa, is slipping out of the aam admi's hands.

Take for example the 'dream' being sold by the state-owned Goa Housing Board.

A GHB advertisement published in local papers last week screams ‘an opportunity to fulfill the dream of owning a plot’ through an auction of plots at various sites in Porvorim, Farmagudi, Sancoale, Canacona and Rumdamol-Davorlim.

It's indeed a ‘dream’ for many a landless, houseless ‘aam admis’ to own a plot in Porvorim. But, this dream comes at a whopping cost of a minimum of Rs 22.3 lakhs, what with the GHB fixing the 'minimum bid price' for the auction at Rs 10,000 per square metre. It would take any aam admi two lifetimes to make that kind of money, even if he/she were to have a take-home salary that's twice Goa’s per-capita income, and the dream that GHB's selling, will remain exactly that -- a dream -- for the Goan 'aam admi' permanently. So, to whom is the Goa Housing Board selling its ‘dreams’ to? The aam admi?

Forum mess

Despite a cloud over her appointment following criticism from lawyers and representations made to the government, the President of the North Goa District Consumer Forum, Harsha Naik, continues to preside over the forum.

Recently, the Mumbai-based President of the State Commission who chaired the panel that selected Naik, came on his statutory monthly visit to the state but did not look into a single representation that has been made to him on the controversial appointment.

What's worse is that the director of civil supplies who forwarded to the government representations made by the legal fraternity and others and made his own adverse comments against Naik, has now been suddenly transferred and replaced.

Also, dozens of consumers from North Goa who have filed complaints against government utilities or state-owned corporations and boards will now have to travel all the way to South Goa. The reason? Naik represented these government departments and corporations before the forum before her appointment and now cannot sit on judgement in the same matters and in the same forum. Therefore, these matters have now been transferred to the South Goa District Forum. Wonder why the government is dragging its feet to act on the various representations its received against Naik's appointment, particularly when it's such an open-and-shut case. Dal mein kuch kala hai?

Friends turned foes? (January 26, 2010)

If Goa’s newspapers last week were to be reviewed, it would seem that the rumblings (or should we call them the Monserrate 'tantrums' that hardly managed to 'tickle' Diggu??) are still on. Diggu was summoned to New Delhi by the High Command, according to the Paper You Can Trust. It also said that the CM and the High Command held discussions over dropping a minister or two, the reference, clearly to two heavyweights and the chief movers and shakers of the political storm of the week before -- Monserrate and Churchill.

Now, now. Diggu is no 'action man'. He's more in the mould of Pratapsing Rane, a status-quoist, rather than a clone of the action-packed Manohar Parrikar or Dr Wilfred de Souza. So, he's unlikely to drop or add anyone to his team and he'd rather let the boat sail, however choppy the waters. So, there'll be no dropping or adding. Not for now at least. What Diggu went to Delhi for, according to a very, very reliable source, was a meeting with the Planning Commission, on the record, and off-the-record, to slam Speaker Pratapsing Rane, who for some unexplained reason isn't on the best of terms with the High Command. According to a bird that flew from Delhi to Goa to avoid the severe winter there, Diggu was bitterly complaining to the Cong bigwigs in Delhi about the 'retired hurt' Rane Senior's sudden readiness to open another innings in Goa. Diggu reminded the High Command that not very long ago, Rane Sr had spurned the offer to open the innings at the strikers end in North Goa. He had cited 'health reasons' and retired to the pavillion, asking 'Baba' instead to do the needfull in Bicholim and Sattari for the candidate "loaned" to the NCP -- Jitendra Deshprabhu. 'How come he’s now fit as a fiddle and all set to open in Goa again?' Diggu is said to have asked the High Command.Diggu, it appears, has made up his mind that only Rane Sr can unseat him, and that too, only if blessed by the High Command. Because not many, if any, within the Congress in Goa would want to see Rane Sr back in the saddle. So, Rane Sr it is that’s gonna be Diggu’s principal foe and he'll spend the customary pilgrimages of obeisance that all CMs of Congress-ruled states have to pay to Delhi in the next few months, trying to convince 10 Janpath how Rane Sr as CM would be bad for the party.

Aires ka chamatkar
There’s something cooking!Suddenly, the gushing flow from Aires Rodrigues’ outbox to our inbox here at GT has slowed down into a mere trickle.

Every other day, the inbox of GT’s official email ID (gteditor@gmail.com) received press releases from the wily and witty advocate-cum-social activist from Ribandar. My enquiries reveal he used to send the same to the inboxes of all the other newspapers as well. And gosh!! Wasn’t he loved by the press corps for this - his language journalistically impeccable and therefore a story for the day on the platter with the least of labour for us journos!

If on one day there was a preview of the next hearing in his legal battle with the Advocate General, Subodh Kantak, the next day it was a virtual ball-by-ball review of what happened at the hearing. And oh my! Juicy stuff it all was for almost every daily to carry. Days later it was ditto with his other VIP foe in the courts - Rane Jr. Preview of a hearing one day and review with expert legal comments the next. Now suddenly the stuff from Aires’ outbox has slowed down to a trickle. We’ve not heard a word through Aires since late November of the ‘threat to kill’ which he’s alleged was delivered to him by Rane Jr through the Idea cell phone connection of Mrs Rane Jr. Ironically, the last we heard from Aires on the ‘threat to kill’ was his (Aires) own threat to keep fighting the Rane scion the day a vernacular daily screamed a report quoting sources from Valpoi that he’s kissed and made up with the headline-hitting advocate from Ribandar. Nothing more since then!

We are beginning to wonder whether there’s something cooking….or has it already been cooked, tasted and eaten?!?

R-Day trivia
There's this little tit-bit I learnt last week.

Current Home Minister, Ravi Naik, is perhaps the only Chief Minister in India to have taken the Republic Day salute in his home State. It happened on January 26, 1991, after he became Chief Minister following that famous ‘tripartite pact’ between him, the then Leader of the Oppostion in Goa, Dr Wilfred de Souza and the late Rajiv Gandhi.

Kursheed Alam Khan was the Governor of Goa then. But a few days before the R-day, he was also given charge of neighbouring Karnataka and had to be in Bangalore to take the salute there. So, Goa had no Governor to take the salue and the privilege fell on the lap of the five-day-old CM Ravi Naik, who lapped it all up.

It’s ‘perform or perish’ for Diggu-ji (January 19, 2010)

Aal iz well?
Not quite, although Diggu kaka by sheer luck continues to retain his 'driver's seat' of the Congress-led ruling dispensation. There are too many 'idiots' hovering around this coveted seat, and the latest to join the gang is the Varca strongman Churchill Alemao. Definitely 'aal izn't well' in Diggu's dispensation. If the 'idiots' are to be believed, funds get allotted only for projects mooted by the CM himself -- the Dona Paula-Vasco sealink for example -- while all other ministers have to wait for months for their files to emerge from the heaps lying in the finance department. And so, with no files moving, there's no moolah to make and there lies the grouse of the Diggu-hatao brigade.

Why he survived is seemingly because he has tonnes of luck, and more importantly, the 'idiots' planned their coup poorly. It was apparent that there were quite a few things visibly amiss. For instance, Churchill was there but his brother Joaquim wasn't. And worst of all, the Diggu-hatao ship had no captain, only hesitatingly reluctant brides in Churchill himself and Goa's perennial CM candidate -- Speaker Pratapsing Rane. Churchill's and Rane's identical 'I will accept it if the High Command says so' exposed the duo's school boyish fettish for the chair. But neither of them did what it takes to catapulate such political upheveals to the the intended goal of unseating an incumbent Congress CM -- lead from the front. Non-playing captains don't really work in politics as they do in Davis Cup tennis.

Home Minister Ravi Naik's deafening silence was another ominous signal for the coup. Now, this is one player in the Congress who just cannot be left out of the loop when such major a development as leadership change is envisaged. Two-and-half-years ago, Ravi lost the race for the CM's chair by the proverbial 'slip between the cup and the lip'. This in itself makes him the natural contender 'Numero Uno' to replace Diggu. He is unlikely to let that advantage slip out of his hands without a fight, whether it's with Rane Sr or even Churchill for that matter.
And, the final straw on the camel's back for the dissidents was their abyssmally poor timing. Rahul Gandhi is arriving today and trouble on Goa's political stage was the least of things the Congress could afford during the stay of their 'Crown Prince' here. That's perhaps why Hariprasad and company went on an overdrive on their cell phones and took the wind out of the dissidents' sails.

A false start is how at best the rumblings of last week can be summed up. But Diggu cannot expect the going, henceforth, to be any easier. Mere lip-service like your oft repeated promises to Goans on SEZ, Regional Plan, CRZ demolitions, which have only remained on paper just won't suffice to keep him going any longer. Two-and-half-years is second longest stint at a stretch (after Rane Sr's between 1995-98) any CM has had since Goa got statehood in 1987. Perform Mr Chief Minister Sir, or the writing is on the wall -- PERISH.

Will Rahulji get a glimpse of Poriem dhangars’ fate?
So, Sankalp Amonkar and Co in the GPYC are going to exhume the thrashing his men got for their act of agitating against the agitation against the Rajiv Gandhi IT Habitat at Dona Paula. Just so that Rahul Gandhi gets sensitised. Wah Amonkar wah! Tussi great ho!! Except that Rahul is too well informed of the project bearing his late father's name, including the massive scandal that it has got buried in. That's why Mama has banished its chief promoter, Dayanand Narvekar, who's still unfinished with licking the wounds.

So before they could be driven to do the same -- lick wounds -- the GPYC-wallahs would do better to stick to Goan traditions in hospitality instead. When a guest of the stature of Rahul Gandhi comes home, serve him dishes that appeal to his taste buds, not yours. And, what could be more enticing for Amonkar and Co, than to take Rahulji to the woods of Sattari and show him first hand the plight of the displaced Dhangars who lost their homes, their hopes and their dreams just a fortnight ago, merely because of the whims of another of his ilk -- the 'Crown Prince' of Sattari. Does Amonkar, or anyone else in the GPYC, have the onions to lay the red carpet for Rahulji all the way to Sattari??

Sonia and mom in Goa (January 12, 2010)

Congressmen and businessmen here in Goa would have fallen head over heels to meet her and greet her a Happy New Year. But, they just didn't know.

The most powerful woman in India, perhaps Asia and the world, was here in Goa to spend a quiet New Year's eve on its sandy shores. Sonia Gandhi spent two nights at the Leela's in Cavelossim along with her mother Paola Maino on December 30 and 31 and left from here for Lakshwadeep on New Year's day. Her daughter Priyanka with husband Robert Vadra, was also here with the kids, two days earlier. While Priyanka and Robert were publicly spotted at a couple of places including in the North, Sonia was confined to the hotel with her aged mother.

Interestingly, no one, absolutely no one, knew of the UPA chairperson's stay. If IB sources are to be believed, it was a 100 per-cent 'private visit' and even the security establishment in Goa was kept in the dark, although the SPG was covering the family 100 per-cent.

But as fate would have it, Sonia wasn't spared a chance meeting with a senior Congressman, both when she boarded the regular commercial flight in Delhi and when she landed at Dabolim as well. Who was the lucky Congressman? Well it was the Union Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad. But, the meeting wasn't all too happy a moment for Azad. Turns out that while Azad and family were booked in 'business class', Sonia and her aged mother flew economy class, leaving the lanky Kashmir politician pink in the face.

As for Goa's Congressman, not one of them got wind of the visit and so we in the newsrooms were spared the photo flood of bouquet-wielding rogues in power either greeting Madam, or in a queue waiting to greet her.

Churchill Brothers’ Musli Power

It's strange how advantages in life actually end up becoming adversities. Churchill Alemao learnt it the hard way last week when his Churchill Brothers football team got embroiled in a controversy mid-air.

It was just two months ago that the patriach of the Alemao clan clinched a sponsorship deal with the makers of ayurvedic aphrodisiac Musli Power Xtra. According to one account, Churchill was to be paid Rs 18-crore over three years under the deal and in return, the team was to be called Musli Power Churchill Brothers. And then, comes this unsavoury incident on a flight where his highest paid player, Odafe Okollie, allegedly molested an air-hostess. The entire team was off-loaded in Mumbai and a criminal case slapped on three players including Odafe by the Mumbai police.

Think of it, there couldn't have been a better advertisement for the aphrodisiac makers than this episode, however unsavoury. The sponsors, who are tearing their hair to substantiate the aphrodisiac properties of their product before the Kerala Food and Drug Administration (FDA), should have been overjoyed. But instead, Churchill is left panting, struggling to save this deal in the face of adverse publicity the incident has earned his team.

Kunnath Pharmaceuticals, the makers of Musli Power Xtra, have decided to conduct an independent, private investigation into the whole incident and left the fate of the deal with Churchill Brothers on its outcome. Rs 18-crore, only for a name, is quite a deal and Churchill is not one who'd let the manna slip out of his hands!

Son-rising

Quite a few sons from Goa's political class are waiting in the wings with truck-loads of aspirations to step into papa's or mama's boots. But unlike Vishwajeet who hasn't waited for Papa to hang his boots to break into the big league, all the others are still waiting. There are at least half a dozen of them that we know of and more are getting added to the list. And, if the grapevine is to be believed, their wait is worth waiting!

BMWs and Audis, Harley Davidsons and what have you to drive around with without ever having to earn a penny is indeed quite a treat. I would 'wait' for a lifetime. But some of these guys are just not happy with these 'tofas' from their daddies. 'Give me more' is what their asking.

There's this one politician's son who has grown so big for his boots that papa's struggling to cope with the demands. He's flying high up North in the fumes coming off from the Sinquerim-Calangute-Baga-Anjuna-Morjim belt and is now several feet above the ground. With one 'rising son' already the proud owner of papa's BMW, this guy now wants to own an 'aircraft' courtesy papa. Word is out that the father has given in and the son is actually negotiating with a few aviation experts and financial consultants the costs and wherewithalls of setting up a private air-taxi company! Should it happen, the BMW-owning Rising Son from the South could perhaps realise his dream of actually piloting a flight in the skies rather than on Goa's streets.

IN DRIVER'S SEAT: Despite all the murmurs our Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, seems to be in the driver's seat much like this picture in which he is flanked by the heavyweight Power Minister Aleixo Sequeira and Transport Minister Sudhin Dhavlikar. Kamat yesterday commissioned 46 such buses for schools under a Centrally-sponsored scheme.

Goa's Nandigram (January 5, 2010)

It can happen only here in Goa!

For the state's administration, a quasi-judicial order of a lowly Deputy Collector is more sancrosant than that of the land's highest court -- The Supreme Court of India. So, demolition orders issued by the Apex Court can be trampled or overturned with introspection, retrospection and what have you, but those issued by a Deputy Collector cannot!

Some months ago, the controversial Deputy Collector of Bicholim, DH Kenaudekar, declared nine structures in Poriem -- five homes and four cowsheds -- illegal, in a quasi-judicial proceeding that could easily make it to the Guiness Book for being the fastest ever. Weeks after that, the local panchayat moved heaven and earth to demolish the structures, but due to stiff physical resistance by the community there, the draconian move got shelved. But not for long. On New Year's eve, a heartless administration bull-dozed the structures and with it reduced to rubble the life, the dreams and the world of five cattle and goat-rearing Dhangar families, some of who have occupied the land for three generations!

Switch over to Dona Paula. Laws of the land are trampled to build a swanky hotel. Three tiers of the mainstream judiciary -- lower judiciary, High Court and Supreme Court -- take almost two decades to adjudicate and finally conclude that illegalities were indeed involved. The judiciary rules that a major portion of it has to be demolished but there's no sign that the hotel is coming down. On the contrary, Goa's bunch of 40 elected representations who make up our legislature engage in a frenzied bout of introspection and retrospection, in one of the most brazen of confrontations with the judciary to bring to naught the Supreme Court's demolition orders.

Bottom line? In Poriem, the structures belonged to Dhangars, and so, they had to be demolished in quick time. As for Dona Paula, we all know to whom the hotel belongs. So, the Digambars, the Parrikars, the Ranes, the Alemaos, the D'Souzas and the Sequeiras, had no choice but to nakedly submit to the colour of money and save the hotel at all costs, even if it meant confronting the land's highest court.

Oh, how I wished Rahul Gandhi had decided to spend the night of December 31, 2009, at one of these five Dhangar homes in Poriem-Sattari!

All for GIM?!?

What on earth was the urgency for the state administration to raze the Dhangar homes without even affording the aggrieved a chance to exercise their fundemental right to a judicial appeal in the civil courts? Obviously, the crown prince of Sattari. Apparently, Baba, who reportedly has Papa's blessings, wants the land to relocate Goa Institute of Management (GIM) on a sprawling campus there. And who dare question him?

Not sure whether the patriach of GIM, Fr Romualdo de Souza, SJ, or for that matter Chico D'Lima, the current head-honcho at GIM would approve of a campus for the CEOs of tomorrow with the shattered dreams of the poorest of poor Dhangars burried underneath. But Baba has spoken and GIM it is that will be built there, come what may.

All the ingredients in this inhuman saga for a sequel to Nandigram, but there won't be one. Pray! There hasn't been even a squeal. Not from the otherwise pow-wohing Leader of Opposition, Manohar Parrikar, nor from any of the blue, white and brown-collared holier-than-thou activists who man the many abhiyans, leaving the poor Dhangars with only Goa's 'Big Goenkar' Rajendra Kerkar, left to raise a solitary voice on their behalf. And, Kerkar is no Mamata!

Less spoken of the media the better, which has been sleeping, perhaps sunburnt and still recovering from the Christmas-New Year hangover. Barring a couple of vernacular dailies, GT and the Goa avataar of the Old Lady of Boribunder in which Rajendra Kerkar himself wrote, not one account of the developments on 'Demolition Day' came out from Sattari. On the contrary, large sections of the media reported how the Prince's harems soothed the wounds of the Dhangars and built them alternate homes for which they should perhaps be nominated for the next Nobel.

Let me conclude thus: "The day we see the truth and cease to speak the truth, is the day we begin to die"-- Martin Luther King Jr.

Cricket v/s Football fiasco

Yet again that familiar game: Politics wins, sports loses!

Dayanand Narvekar dreams that the BCCI has allotted him an ODI. So, his GCA writes to the SAG for the Nehru stadium. So, Sports Minister Manohar Babu Azgaonkar, VM Prabhudesai and company at the SAG and all and sundry connected with the sports ministry fall head over heals to hand over the stadium, damn the Goa Football Association, the I-league or even sports.

So, now that Narvekar's dream has been shattered, the stadium is in tatters and there's neither cricket nor football, like we so often say in Konkani -- bappai nam, pudvein nam!

Somebody's head must roll.