South Goa RTO is a fountainhead of corruption in Goa. First hand experience of a parent. – By Ashley J. Fernandes

Ashley J. Fermandes

Well this was what was well said and written about by a friend of mine many years ago. Whilst I waited for the right opportunity to come my way I was rewarded last week as the corrupt official of the transport department played into my hands during the driving test of my daughter, Aelita-lee Fernandes, the inspector concerned, Nixon Soares.

It is a well known fact that driving tests over the years are a mere formality, observing the manner in which vehicles are driven and parked on the Goan roads. A farce it is, because rules are applied and are supposedly implemented by the officers in charge to selective candidates at the time of the tests, only to be forgotten forever by one and all. That the rules itself are wrongly implemented is another joke.

Miss Aelita-Lee Fernandes turned up for her driving test on 27^th May 2016 near the District Library, Navelim  at 9.30am since the scheduled time for the traffic cell personnel to arrive was 10am. After a long wait for 1hour 15 minutes (to be precise), the officer arrived much to my delight, as the candidates were made to waiting in the sweltering summer heat, as he greeted me and enquired who was being tested from my family. I openly gave him the name as I didn’t want any favours done.

This being besides the point, the tests began and my daughter was tested. After she was asked to drive forward, reverse and park to a side which she rightly did in the best possible manner, she got off the vehicle and was told by the officer that she had not put her parking lights on. Well I would like to ask Nixon Soares, if he has ever put the parking lights of his vehicle on whilst having dinner and booze at a bar and restaurant, I haven’t to be honest. I yet chose to accept the decision of her being failed for this action of hers, since the deciding authority at that instant seemed to have carried out his duties, till the time I set my hands on the officers report of the test which is sufficient proof. What I actually saw was shocking, it is worst than corruption to the core, since the officer’s report had nothing mentioned on it, as to why my daughter has failed the test  and a test was rescheduled for 31/05/2016. Now, if she had failed the test for whatever valid reason, the reason should have been mentioned, which also implies that the failed candidate cannot be given a re-test before a 10 day gap.  On questioning the instructor of the Teja Motor Driving School, I was told to speak to the inspector since the papers were lying with him. Why should I be allowed to speak to the inspector to reverse his decision or was it one way of asking for a bribe or further, was it a way of getting even with me for my attack on the Transport Department in South Goa which is already a laughing stock for all around, with traffic rules being flouted at the drop of a hat, in the local newspapers and on social media? It is by all standards a “highly suspicious judgement”.

What is even more shocking are the faulty signals (as per my knowledge ) followed by the driving schools and the inspectors conducting the test, where my daughter was asked to press the hazed light button to activate the hazard lights as parking lights . reverse lights. If this is what the hazard lights are used for then which lights do we use when a vehicle that has broken down is parked to a side? Also, can the Transport Minister or the band of jokers under him educate me as to why vehicle manufacturers have provided reverse lights when the reverse gear is activated? I also demand an answer , as to what are the actual parking lights provided  meant for? I’m sorry, the guys in the transport department will first need to take a crash course on the rules governing traffic before they test candidates applying for a driving licence.

While this may be put into print in the local media, the matter will also be seriously taken up with authorities at the State Government level and Central Government level, for the CORRUPT PRACTICES followed by the TRANSPORT CELL in Goa as a whole, as we need to weed out the garbage that is present within the system which as of now is “ the fountain head of corruption”.

Manohar Parrikar aka late Indira Gandhi style in Goa -- By Nisser Dias

Way back in the 80s when the iron lady of India late Indira Gandhi held the reigns of the country as the Prime minister, Zuari bridge which was completed months before was not being allowed to be used as Mrs. Gandhi could not find time or make time to fly to Goa to inaugurate thereby alleviating the hardships of the commuters who had to depend on the ferry to cross the river.

Ultimately it took the grit and guts of an IPS lady police officer Kiran Bedi to throw it open much to the relief of the public. For this act of hers, she received a dressing down from the then chief minister Pratapsing Rane.

Recently ex-chief minister of Goa and now Defence minister Manohar Parrikar repeated the act of then Prime Minister and skipped the inauguration of the stilt parking in the capital city for want of time. It was given to understand that he was busy preparing the groundwork to bombard the Congress over AgustaWestLand helicopter scam in the Parliament. And hence the people or the general public who vote these politicians to public office be damned.

It also seems that the politicians of all hues and political parties think alike and that is not the betterment of the public but their publicity and fame.

Stilt or vertical parking project in Panjim



Or could it be that Parrikar did not want to throw it open on the birthday of his controversial partyman and Tourism minister Dilip Parulekar?

But ultimately it is general public that has to suffer because the project is not inaugurated to satisfy the ego of one man. And why?

Was the project planned and executed with Defence Minister’s personal money? Was the property on which the project stands his? The idea to have such a project may not have even come from ex-CM. The concept was mooted through public demand and funded partly by the Union government. But after completion of the utility project we have to wait for ‘His Lordship’ to inaugurate it, till then the pubIic has to suffer. And if the project was not complete why was it even slated to be inaugurated on controversial Tourism minister Dilip Parulekar’s birthday.

Vertical parking project in the capital city was undertaken during current government tenure, even the third bridge over river Mandovi was mooted by this dispensation. Sadly this same government did not give any attention to the district hospital in Margao which was started during the Congress tenure. It is very evident that the BJP government does not care for the health of people.

It is perceived that Parrikar is intelligent but to my mind he is all about hype, baseless rhetoric, arrogance, domination and dictatorship. Does an intelligent person craves his name to be on the plaque and goes to the extent of stalling a public project. This is not at all an intelligent thought but more of a sadistic idea to be present for the inaugural and hog the limelight.

We all know that our cities lack adequate parking space and there is urgent need for such public projects or infrastructure to be set-up to ease traffic movement and avoid traffic jams. But here is an example of utter disrespect for the public, when a project that is ready is not being thrown open for public use just to pander or satisfy the ego of one man.

Let’s go back in time when Congress was in power. There was a landslide on one side of the Porvorim hill near the Assembly complex. Work was being carried out to clear the highway. As it happens with any government department removing the pile of mud was being done leisurely and traffic police were having a tough time regulating to and fro traffic only on one side of the highway as the other half was buried under the earth.

Manohar Parrikar then Opposition leader appeared there from Assembly and seeing the slow movement of the vehicles threw open the police cordon and barricades and let the riders and drivers find their own way. For this act of his the police had booked him for endangering human life which is a bailable offence.

When he was questioned by journalists, his reply was that police regulating the traffic movement were not efficient and it was causing hardship to the public and so he removed the cordon.

Today also motorists are facing hardship due to acute constraint of parking space and his government is in power but the same principle does not apply to him and Manohar Parrikar does not feel the hardships of the same people. 

 

Nutty Salad

Requirements:-

3 bunches lettuce leaves.

1(150-200gms) iceberg

1(250gms) broccoli

2 onions

2 tomatoes (hard)

200gms of dried fruits

100gms of boiled groundnuts/peanuts

Garlic sauce with herbs

Preparation:-

Tear of the lettuce leaves. (curly front of the leaves should be maintained)

Finely slice iceberg. Cover both with cling film and refrigerate.

Cut/break broccoli into half inch pieces and refrigerate it.

Cut dried fruits into size if peanuts and refrigerate it.

Boil fresh groundnuts with little salt, peel them and refrigerate it.

2-3 hours before serving mix dried fruits, peanuts and broccoli together and add garlic sauce with herbs.

Dressing:-

Take the lettuce leaves and iceberg from the refrigerator, apply olive on it.

Take a flat dish, place lettuce leaves on the circumference and sprinkle little salt and white pepper. Spread the lettuce leaves in the middle of the salad plate. Put the mixture of dried nuts, broccoli and peanuts in the middle.

Tomatoes and onions should be chopped to ¾ to an inch size. Soak chopped onions for five minutes in vinegar. Spread tomatoes and onions on the lettuce leaves and serve chilled.

Should AAP and Goa Foward form an alliance to defeat national parties in Goa? -- By Nisser Dias

The overwhelming response for the Aam Admi Party (AAP) at their first ever meeting at Campal on 22^nd May has surely sent shivers down the spine of the BJP government in the State.

Sea of people at AAP meeting in Goa on 22nd May

From the very comments of the Goa unit BJP president Vinay Tendulkar that the AAP candidates are going to lose their deposits in all the constituencies in Goa and Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar’s retort that only a few educated Christians will cast their ballot for AAP exposes that they are jittery. CM seems to have lost touch with reality on the ground as even Hindus are disenchanted with BJP because of its anti-people policies. Furthermore Laxmikant Parsekar should concentrate on getting elected himself as he has gifted lakhs of sq.mts. of land at Tiracol in his constituency for golf project and his voters are not at all happy about it.  

CM Laxmikant Parsekar:- Will he
win his own seat ?

Father of U-turns:- Defence Minister M. Parrikar

Parsekar and Tendulkar tend to forget that though AAP had betrayed the faith of the voters in Delhi in just 49 days during their first stint, the same people had forgiven them and voted them back to power with absolutely majority. The comments of these two BJP members can also be construed as an insult to the voters of the Delhi.

It has already been established that BJP is on the downslide since it came to power in 2012. The BJP government with Manohar Parrikar at the helm of affairs of the state as the ex-chief minister Manohar Parrikar did just the opposite of what had been promised in their election manifesto and that is the reason this government is nick-named as the government of U-turns and Parrikar as the father of U-turns. The BJP unit very much knows that they are on a very shaky wicket and may not even able to garner 2-digit figures in the coming Assembly elections and hence are beating their own hollow drums of development.

The BJP is very much aware of the silent voters who after experiencing the rules, rulers and regimes of the MGP, Congress, BJP and its alliances would want to give an opportunity to a new political party.

I'm helpless:-
GPCC Chief Luizinho Faleiro

Just like the Congress, the BJP also has totally exposed itself as no different from the Congress maybe worse. AAP or Goa Forward will provide an alternative to choose from at the 2017 Assembly hustings.

What remains to be seen is the credibility of the candidates AAP and Goa Forward puts up. The captain of the AAP, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seems to have made it very clear to members in Goa that if individuals have joined the party only to contest elections on AAP ticket then his party  is not the right platform as he is not interested in persons wanting to only contest elections.

Arvind Kejriwal - what I think and say is ultimate

The present scenario in Goa is that the people are fed-up with the BJP and its allies that includes the ‘altar boys’, whereas Congress has nothing new to show not even in new faces and young blood is gasping for breath in a roomful of veterans who have made politics their only source of income. It is doubtful that the grand old party will improve their stake in the Assembly.

It would be prudent that AAP and Goa Forward come together to form an alliance to battle out the election together. Both these parties could provide logistic support to each other against the formidable BJP. I’m saying formidable because the Union government is sure to use its government machinery, financial power not forgetting muscle power especially because they would not want a State ruled by them in the last four years voting against it as it would translate to people rejecting its policies.

But the problem with Arvind Kejriwal and Vijay Sardessai meeting each other halfway is that both individuals are equally dominative. If one observes Delhi Chief Minister’s way of functioning is akin to Defence Minister’s. Both are IITians and both think they are the ultimate rulers and all other are their subjects.

I'll beat all gambles:-
Goa Forward chief Vijay Sardessai

On the other hand Vijay is equally sharp and can be brazen, but more importantly he has endeared himself to the people by being almost the lone opposition voice in the Assembly for the last four years taking on the arrogant might of Manohar Parrikar. At the same time he has broken bread with the government otherwise he would be denied development in his Fatorda constituency.

At the moment it looks unlikely that AAP would want to align with Goa Forward given the fact that Vijay had given a call for all Opposition to come together to defeat the BJP. Till recently Goa Forward was toying with the idea of an alliance with the Congress, which would not be palatable to AAP.

Not forgetting that Arvind Kejriwal also formed his very first government with the support of the Congress in Delhi. In a way both the political outfits are sailing in the same boat.

If somebody can connect or bring together AAP and Goa Forward together to fight the 2017 general elections one could comfortably surmise that the alliance would give the national parties a run for their money and in-turn would reap huge benefits.

Undoubtedly AAP and Goa Forward have filled the vacuum created by the national parties and people of Goa will have an alternative during the 2017 Assembly elections irrespective of them coming together or going it alone.

Can Congress reverse its falling Fortunes? -- By Fr. Victor Ferrao

Fr. Victor Ferrao

Congress mukt Bharat remains merely a propaganda of the BJP. If Congress mukt Bharat, becomes a reality, it will be an disadvantage for the BJP because it will lack the favourite punching bag and will not have opportunities to prey on its defects.  In the light of recent result of Assam, Kerala, West Bengal etc. it time that Congress in Goa understands that when it stubbornly promotes Grandpa’s  as leaders, it is giving ammunition to BJP in Goa  to attack its interest . Hence, reformation of the Congress is the need of the hour. Younger leadership might counter the trust deficient that Congress suffers in Goa. Otherwise Congress may end up becoming inadvertently or willingly the B-Team of BJP in Goa. 

We cannot rule out the nexus of Congress and BJP because at least  both of them have stuck together to allow them to receive donations from  foreign corporations.  This silent stitching of law with retroactive effect to legalize their illegal acts of receiving of funds from foreign corporations has already strengthen the chains of neo-colonization which begun in the 1990s with the opening of the free market economy. It is frightening to think what would be our plight if our Government are controlled by foreign corporations that would like to prey on our national resources and our massive market.  This and other reasons may provide credibility to the public allegations of Dr. Oscar Rebello and independent MLA Vijai Sardessai that  local Congress leaders have their strong links with ruling BJP.

The need of a surgery jibe of senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh after the mega defeats in Kerala and Assam may appear to be the correct reading of the writing on the wall. But what will it cut open to treat the Congress Party that is in the ICU will decide if at all Congress will revive in the near future. In Goa, it appears to be a sinking ship since the old heavy weights in the Party are unwilling to make way for the next generation.  Though, there are promises made by the top leadership, no young leaders could be spotted in the frontline of the touch march of the Congress just days ago. Certainly the old leaders have their role and place in the party. But several of them who carry corruption tags can only taint the Congress Party and damage its electoral prospects.

The injection of young blood will bring new energy and the Congress may look pure without the individual stains of its old leaders. This does not mean that the entry of youngsters will become a dip into the Ganges. Congress will still have the stains of its collective past. Hence, it is no easy task to get the ailing party win the people’s trust.  May be even if its leadership does the Parrikar act of seeking pardon from the electorate for its past sins, it may fail to convince the people. Besides, the threat of parachuting of the same old faces as candidates has reached the nauseating levels among the local people in Goa. Hence, there is no easy road of recovery for the Congress in Goa.

Just like the game of cricket, we cannot write the obituary of any political player, much less of the Congress Party till the last ball is bowled.  What we have only considered with some critical attention is how Congress looks when viewed within. Things are more complex, when we view Congress vis-à-vis other political players like that of the entry of AAP and the other regional outfits, it does appear that the road ahead would be a bed of roses. Add to that the six ex-chief ministers, and other tall old leaders with ambitions transcending the Party and what you have is game of snake and ladder played behind the back during the crucial electoral process. This is why the road to recovery for the grand old party is difficult though not impossible.

Sonia Gandhi - President of Congress party

Nationally to a large extent it has already lost its vote share to the regional satraps and the low tide is not showing any sign of going away. In Goa too, it had lost last time to the independents, and new young catholic leaders fielded by the BJP. While the BJP has failed to deliver its promises and is guilty of several U-Turns and anti-people policies, Congress on its own fails to inspire the confidence of Goans. They do not appear to be inclined to inject new blood or join hands with the local parties which allows an opportunity for BJP to win by default. Goans wish to have a reformed Congress. Otherwise there is a danger of debunking the Grandpa’s raj like the family raj during the last elections.       

Congress party will have to sleep with the rivals to keep the enemy at bay. -- By Cleofato Almeida Coutinho

The results of elections to four states and one union territory assemblies are on expected lines, except in Tamil Nadu where Jayalalita was seen as formidable, but exit polls gave a different impression. Kerala also kept up to its image of changing governments every five years. After the failure of the Congress to align with Badrudhin Ajmal of AIUDF it was certain that the BJP would have a gate way in the North East. 

Normally the party ruling the centre is at advantage and tends performs better in the polls as the states wish to derive benefits from the centre. The party is also in a position to use official machinery. History tells us that the ruling party at the center which gets to power by decimating the other side rarely looses in the first half. Look at the 1977 elections, the Janata wave that swept the country brought the Janata governments in the states. Similarly the Indira wave of 1980 brought back the Congress governments. Even the V.P. Singh wave of 1989 brought Janata Dal governments in the Hindi heartland of UP and Bihar.

Looking at History it looks strange that despite the victories in Haryana and Maharashtra, the BJP was decimated in Delhi and Bihar. 

Assam CM to be Sarbananda Sonowal

The sweep in Assam is only due to the failure of the other side to come together. AIUDF with 18 seats and 3 MPs could certainly give an arithmetic advantage to the Congress party. The combine had a ten percentage advantage over BJP even in 2014. If the party could align with the left in West Bengal there is hardly any argument as to why there could not be an alliance in Assam.  Tarun Gogoi is seen as a last regional satrap who tried his best to make the election something about Assamese nationalism against the Hindu nationalism of the BJP. The failure at alliance making is largely due to the fact that this satrap and the Congress party live in their past glory and are unable to come to terms with reality that BJP is now the dominant pole of Indian politics.

Mamata Banerjee invades West Bengal

These election results were never over who will form the governments in the four states but over their impact on national politics. The results demonstrate that regional parties have withstood the Modi wave. At the time of 2014 elections it was felt that the anti Congress vote would be converted into a pro-Modi wave resulting in a boost for the party in the assembly elections to come after 2014.  It was expected that Assam and West Bengal would be swept by the Modi wave and a serious dent would be made in the southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.  It’s performance in Kerala and Tamil Nadu has been dismal.

Celebration in Kerela upon LDF's victory

Though the results show the downhill trend of the Congress party, the BJP can only console over Assam results. The congress party has not be in a position revive its fortunes except in rural Gujarat in municipal for some local bodies elections to and some bye polls. The alliance results in Puducherry is hardly a consolation. Arvind Kejriwal and Nitish Kumar seem to see a silver lining in the declining fortunes of the Congress party and are positioning themselves for the premier slot. But at this stage these are regional forces without any pan India image. The 93 year old Karunanidhi realized the importance of the Congress party and its pan India image despite it’s minimal presence in Tamil Nadu without G.K. Vasan. Karunanidhi allied with the congress party only for the arithmetic advantage and better positioning. 

Even at its worst the Congress had a 19% vote share in 2014. There is no statistics to show that it has declined. In fact the alignment with JD(U) and RJD in Bihar, left in West Bengal and DMK in Tamil Nadu shows that the Congress has relevance as a principal pole on the other side of the dominant pole. A lot would dependent upon how the party exploits that position to its advantage. Aligning with the left in West Bengal, RJD and JD(U) in Bihar and DMK in Tamil Nadu in Bihar helped it not to get decimated. It’s poor performance in Assam is due to non alignment with AIUML.

Tactical alliances is the key to resurrection of Congress. Veterans in the Congress party who do not contest elections, continue to believe that the party should go to the polls on its own so as not to share electoral space with regional parties. History shows that alliances the party is unable to revive and loose out to regional players. But a party which is neither vibrant nor dynamic and drawing its inspiration from one family shall have to build its fortune only on the arithmetic advantage and prevent the BJP from expanding. There will have to be electoral understandings with rivals to keep the enemy at bay as long as it’s leadership fails to catch the imagination of the people.

Supporters hail Jayalalitha's victory

The alignment with the left in West Bengal is historic. It was actually driven at the local level. The Siliguri Mayor tested the arithmetic advantage in the Siliguri Municipal Corporation and has been the driving force of the alliance with the Congress. Though the veterans in both Left and the Congress party opposed such an alliance, seat sharing happened due to the need at the ground level. The alliance may not have succeeded in forming the government but it certainly made the election interesting and halted and chipped into the 17% vote share of the BJP in the 2014 general elections.  

 The next round of elections shall be in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Goa. Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam have great lessons for the Congress party.  The party will have to sleep with the rivals to keep the enemy at bay.  

 

Pork Vindaloo

Requirements

1 Kg Pork

2 Big Onions

Salt as per taste

15 Kashmiri Chillies,

4 – 6 Garlic flakes,

1″ Ginger

2 Teaspoons of Jeera,

1 and a 1/2″ Haldi,

1″ piece of Cinnamon

3 – 6 Peppers

3 – 6 Cloves

¼ cup Vinegar

Preparation

Grind the Kashmiri chilies, cinnamon stick, cumin, clove, peppercorns, and turmeric with a mortar and pestle or mixer until the spices have been ground smooth. Mix with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to create a smooth paste. Add salt for taste.

Mix the pork cubes with the spice-vinegar paste in a bowl until evenly coated and let it marinate for an hour.

Heat the vegetable oil in a vessel, stirfry the onions, garlic, and ginger until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the pork and its marinade and cook, until the pork firms up. Pour in the water, bring to simmer, then reduce heat, cover and cook until the pork is tender.

Drop in 2 green chilies and 1/4 cup of vinegar. Simmer cook it until the gravy has thickened.Let it mature for 24 hours before consuming.

Before serving heat the Vindalho and add sugar, salt and vinegar if required.

In The Name Of Education -- By Saturnino Rodrigues, Seraulim

In the words of the late Nelson Mandela “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Today, the Late Nelson Mandela would have had another opinion if he were in Goa noticing the huge mushrooming of private schools and nurseries in the name of education. He would have probably said that “Education is the most powerful channel to generate money for these private entrepreneurs and change their fortune”.

Education commonly is divided formally into such stages as pre-school or kindergarten, primary, secondary and then college and university. It is now slowly become a fashion to admit a small tiny child in these privately set schools due to the fact that both parents are working without realizing that most of these play schools and day care centres are run by cheap, untrained personnels and are set up by business minded people with no education institutional background. In fact, parents are putting the life of their child at risk, no parent will know if the child was abused or even beaten after they dropped the child in these centres or so called pre-primary school.

The point here is to highlight on how Goa is exploited by the mushrooming of these private pre-primary schools and day care centres are run by a few franchises from Delhi, Mumbai and elsewhere. As we move through the villages of Goa, we could read hoardings of such schools on road side offering educational services in English for tiny kids as old as one and half years of age. At this age, one could wonder if a child can converse and understand any given instructions. This is the tender age where they should be clinging around their parents for warmth and affection. But the mushrooming of these private schools, their curriculum and fancy brochure has blinded some of the parents to admit their wardens in these schools at a tender age. This is something equivalent to child abuse by the parents as well as by so called schools. For the schools, this is an opportunity to make business and for the parents, to keep off the child from home, from the required tender care they long from the parents. Considering the fees charged by these private schools, one wonders if it is an educational institution and this clearly specifies that it is nothing but a business that is out of reach of the common man or the poor Goans. This all in the name of providing education which is a business which has got no initial investment and or huge capital, the returns are guaranteed and high yield achieved in a short time. They have a hidden story behind them and surfing on the internet to find out information of these so called schools will reveal more as there are hundreds of complaints by the affected parents who learnt the trick of this money making racket too late.

RTI documents obtained from the Goa Education Department revealed the foulest part of these schools. A particular school with a hi-fi name claiming to be having the required permissions and displaying a certain reference number from the education department turned out to be a bogus one. They have no licenses nor follow proper norms of setting up the schools. They just come and set up shop in posh residential colonies targeting the local populace and those of corporate employees. Education department also states that the prescribed age to admit a child to formal education is three and half years. The modus of operation here is to target the young children of the affluent people only to make money. It is commonsense that child as young as one and half year cannot talk properly and how can one expect to send such a child to these schools? Why do these schools not apply for proper permissions? It is because, legally, they will never get permissions to admit a child of one and half year in these money making schools. The premises housing such schools are either shops or residential houses which again breaks the rules of setting up a school. According to the guidelines provided by the Education Department, no school shall be set up without the proper infrastructure and that includes proper parking space, prescribed size of classrooms, play area and authorization from the Fire and Safety Department and in such area where the surroundings are in conducive environment.

With the Goa governments one after another dragging on with the MoI issue, this has become a fodder for these money making franchises to easily operate in Goa. A few complaints to the education department are left in the cold storage, in these cases, it should have been acted swiftly and stopped the exploitation of the child. Women and Child welfare commissions should have acted swiftly upon receiving complaints along with other relevant departments who are in-charge of the affairs including the local village panchayat and the police. Since our governments, one after another are dragging the MoI issue, the business has become lucrative for monetary gains rather than education, let not these money spinning business houses take Goans for a ride.

It is high time that the Goa government should crack a whip on these private, unrecognized and illegal so called schools and call it a day. And it is the duty of each parent to do a pre-assessment of these schools and not just get attracted to these so called fancy school names for their kids. Let not the child be a burden and be burdened in the name of education in unprofessional and unrecognized centres some of which are a nuisance to the general public with these centres set up in residential areas where atmosphere is not conducive in any form. Let education be true education imparting knowledge provided by real educationists and not by those with monetary intentions.

In Goa Kidzee pre-primary school is served with a STOP NOTICE by the Seraulim Panchayat to stop operations from the 3rd of May but yet they are defying. The school is being operated in a 4 bedroom residential house with no parking space a nd absolutelyno permissions. The same school was forced to vacate premises by the residents of St Mary's colony, Benaulim after a incident with a lawyers car (Advocate Emerico).

The KG(aseous) balloon: The end of the Modi dream? It is also about diversion of public funds and corruption. – By Pushparaj Deshpande

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is precisely what has happened to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his quest for absolute power, he has systematically laid the foundations of an authoritarian state by undermining every single leader within the BJP, and by ruthlessly crushing any dissent. That is why India has been witness to the dastardly “suppression by stealth” of the media,

civil society, academics, students, and obviously the political opposition. Concurrently, he has undertaken a Gobblesian propaganda campaign to obfuscate/embellish his past and present, presumably to establish himself as the greatest saint politician India has ever seen (purer than even Mahatma Gandhi).

One such sordid tale that this Gobblesian campaign seeks to suppress is the Krishna Godavari-Basin (KG-Basin) scam. In 2005, then CM Modi abruptly announced that the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) had discovered 20 trillion cubic feet of gas in KG basin (that the BJP promptly renamed the Deendayal West area block), which would generate revenue worth Rs. 2.2 lakh crore for India! Everyone (including the state and central administrations as well as subject experts) was astonished at this fantastic claim. If true, such a find would have made India energy self-sufficient, a must for any country aspiring for super power status. Modi’s announcement therefore generated euphoric excitement and even shifted the narrative from him being the alleged mastermind of the 2002 riots to a potential Prime Ministerial candidate. In fact, given how events unfolded, it is abundantly clear that the announcement (like everything else PM Modi does) was just another exaggerated publicity stunt.

Four years after CM Modi made the announcement, GSPC’s “Field Development report” pointed out that less than 10 per cent of what was claimed was actually available and that it would be commercially unviable to drill for so little gas, or sell it at the prevailing market rate. Unfortunately for GSPC, they didn’t know (as India is painfully realising now) that Modiji pays heed exclusively to his own mann ki baat! He thus ignored the field report, and forced GSPC to go ahead with the project. Because of this, GSPC borrowed nearly Rs 20,000 crore from 15 different public and private sector banks. And what does India have in return? Nothing! As of May 2016, GSPC’s KG Basin block has not even started commercial production. In fact, as per GSPC’s own annual reports, after 2005 its gas reserves have consistently declined.

But the issue is not just about Modiji’s gaseous exaggerations. It is also about diversion of public funds and corruption. After coercing GSPC to go ahead with drilling in KG basin, CM Modi forced it to partner with a company named Geo Global. Now here’s the interesting bit.

Geo Global  was reportedly incorporated just six days before the agreement with GSPC. At the time of entering into the agreement with GSPC, Geo Global’s capital was reportedly a measly Rs 3,200. A week after the agreement, its capital mushroomed to Rs 10,000 crore.

Similarly, GSPC was reportedly forced to dole out contracts for complex extraction rigs and platforms to Tuff Drilling. Tuff Drilling’s promoter was primarily in the apparel business before landing GSPC’s contract and had no prior experience in gas extraction. Since then, CM Modi forced GSPC to disburse over Rs 5,000 crore to similar dubious companies!

Given that GSPC has not produced any gas from the KG-basin, where did the Rs 20,000 crore vanish? Assuming Rs 5,000 crore was spent on purchasing and setting up equipment (even if this went to dubious companies), that still leaves Rs 15,000 crore. Was this public money diverted to fund Modi ji’s extravagant 2014 election campaign? Does this not merit an independent high level judicial probe? And even more interestingly, when the screws were tightened on Vijay Mallya for defaulting on Rs. 9000 crore, why is GSPC not being subject to similar treatment? Why is it that instead, its Managing Director was rewarded with an appointment as the Director of the National Informatics Centre?

However, desperately the BJP may sycophantically defend PM Modi, the bitter reality is that under him corruption was rampant in Gujarat. Consider how he gave 250 acres of land (in a restricted wildlife zone) to cronies of the current CM of Gujarat for less than Rs. 1.5 crore.

Similarly, CM Modi gave public land for the Mundra SEZ, which was worth Rs. 1500 per square metre for a pittance (anything between Rs. 01 & Rs. 32). That is why for years, the CAG was deliberately denied access to numerous files in Gujarat. And that is also why under Modi ji, a Lokayukta was not appointed for 10 years.

In his avatar as Prime Ministerial candidate, Modiji had famously argued “main na khata hoon, na khaane deta hoon”. It seems the truth is different.

 

Xacuti (pron: XA is pronounced as sha)

1  kg chicken, cut into pieces for curry

1⁄4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1  teaspoon salt

2  inches ginger

10  cloves garlic

1⁄2 bunch coriander

5  green chilies

1  teaspoon oil

2  sliced onions

2  green chilies, chopped

1  inch gingerroot

5  cloves garlic

1  large coconut, grated

1⁄2 bunch coriander

2  inches cinnamon

3  peeled cardamoms

1  teaspoon anise seed

1  teaspoon black peppercorn

1  tablespoon poppy seed

1  tablespoon coriander seed

8 -10  kashmiri red chilies

1  star anise

1⁄4 inch nutmeg

1⁄2 inch turmeric

2  teaspoons peanut oil

2  sliced onions

2  slit green chilies

1⁄4 cup water

Directions

Marinate the chicken pcs in the turmeric and salt and keep aside.

Make a paste of ginger, garlic, coriander, chillies and add to the chicken and marinate for half an hour.

Heat 1 tsp oil in pan and sauté 2 sliced onions, green chillies, ginger, garlic for 3 minutes.

Add 1 grated coconut and sauté for another 5-7 minutes.

Once onions are crispy, keep aside.

On a dry pan separately roast cinnamon, cardamom, aniseed, black pepper corn, poppy seeds,

coriander seeds, Kashmiri red chillies, star anise, mace flower, nutmeg, and turmeric.

Make Xacuti masala by grinding together the onion mix and spice mixture.

Heat 2 tsp oil in pan and add the remaining 2 sliced onions and green chillies.

After one minute add the marinated chicken pieces.

After two minutes add Xacuti masala and water.

Cook for 15 minutes or till chicken is tender.

Garnish with coriander leaves.