No champions for them?

About a decade ago, when coaches (buses) were introduced by hoteliers to ferry their guests on arrival from Dabolim to their doorstep, the mainstream politicians cried foul. Goenkar taxi drivers will lose their livelihood was their refrain. They even organised a revolt, many a at times a violent one, to brow-beat the hoteliers who ultimately retreated. Now, there is some sort of a truce, a deal, where taxi drivers ferry some, and the coaches ferry others.

Similar to the taxi drivers is the case with many other sections of Goans, who's livelihoods were threatened. The politicos stepped in and restored their bread and butter. But, the fishing community of the tourism-bubbly Sinquerim-Candolim coast aren't lucky thus.

Last week I spent a few days (on holiday) at Sinquerim - not at the Taj, I can't afford it. And, I was shocked, to see the fate of the beach. There's no beach. It looks like a war zone, ravaged by sea erosion. Many believe, as does obliquely a report done by the NIO, that the rusting River Princess is responsible for it. The River Princess Hatao Manch of Candolim, was agitating but principally on behalf of those who poked their fingers in the tourism pie.

But, a section of the fishermen from the area are left high and dry. There's no beach from where they can pull their nets and bring in the catch to feed themselves and their families. Those who can afford a canoe fitted with a Yamaha outboard motor, have done it and thus worked out an alternative for themselves. But there still are a notable number of families robbed of their livelihood on the erosion-ravaged Sinquerim beach and there's no one to even bat an eyelid for them. No one to petition the government for a subsidy, relief or any such crutch to get them back on their feet.

Tourism, hospitality, water sports and what not, however, continues to survive and even thrive with the water scooters, boat rides guys and sundry having made their haven on the Taj corner of the beach. But I wonder if Sinquerim will ever see its fishermen cast their nets and pull them back to shore in the pre-dawn hours of the day again!

Finally, a chargesheet!

Red-faced after a local court granted two of the accused bail because the charge-sheet wasn't filed in the mandatory 180 days, the National Investigating Agency has finally got its feet moving on its job in the Diwali eve blasts at Margao in October last year. A chargesheet has now been filed.

Politics or otherwise, the manner in which the state moved in the aftermath of that shocking incident behind Grace Church in Margao, is puzzling. Ravi Naik as Home Minister was a 'hawk' but his boss in the cabinet, CM Digambar Kamat, who incidentally could have been a 'dead duck' victim had the plan of the perpetrators worked, came across as a dove.

Ravi's posture was understandable, what with an opportunity in hand to trip his Ponda rival Sudin Dhavlikar. But Diggu's stance seemed queer, at times illogical, in going out of his way to soften the machinery's movements against Sanatan Sanstha to which all the 11 accused, including the two dead charge-sheeted by the NIA, were affiliated.

But none of this was more puzzling than the faux pas of the NIA. The failure of this agency, set up by the Indian government in the immediate aftermath of Mumbai's 26/11 carnage, to file the charge-sheet within the stipulated 180 days is just not condonable. It has now filed the charge-sheet, 200-odd days after the incident, as if it collected some crucial evidence, in the last twenty days before filing the document in court. Plain negligence.

Churchill snubs sports journos

He's not known to be one of those politicos who'd rub the scribes the wrong way. Yet, rub them the wrong way, he did.

Churchill Alemao, who besides claiming to be the champion of politicians also prides himself as a patron of football and his Musli Powered Churchill Brothers team, has earned himself and his club the ire of a band of Goa's sports journos.

Officials of his football club began collecting passport details of Goan journos apparently to join his team on its Kuwait sojourn for the AFC Cup fixture there. This raised the spirit of my peers who cover all kinds of balls on the playfields. A trip to the Gulf as part of duty, is sure a welcome junket in this otherwise not very rewarding in either cash or kind (for some) profession. But their joy was only short-lived. At the eleventh hour, the team dropped the idea of taking along the Goa journos and instead tagged on just a couple -- one who also doubles up as Churchill Bros' media officer and another who belongs to the Old Lady of Boribunder.

This turn of events has not earned the otherwise endearing Churchill-bab any brownie points among my tribe in the sports field. But for the record, no one's complaining on the record. How can they? After all, Churchill hasn't been so mean to them all these years that he's been in politics and soccer, has he?

Tailpiece

After India's 50 years of independence, the government entitled its servicemen and other key uniformed officials to sport a logo on the left side of their chest, but only those who were in service during the the 50th year of independence were entitled. Here in Goa, every Tom, Dick and Harry in the police force wears it. Even those part of the IRB Battalions who joined service a few years ago. No one questions them, not even their superiors!