Goa : Bollywood's beach-eyed baby

For Bollywood, Goa has been a favourite destination to camp for shooting since the sixties when Bollywood producers and directors seem to have woken up to a landslide beauty next door to Mumbai. The trend therefore began in the sixties with the legendary Manoj Kumar  shooting "Ghum Naam"  and since then there has been little looking back for the bollywood film industry which has found Goa to be the ideal foil to most of their plots

Goans will not forget the presence of their Goan beaches in the unforgettable romantic tragedy titled " Ek Duuje Ke Liye" which starred Kamal Hassan and Rati Agnihotri in the lead pair, with the beach of Dona Paula as their favourite haunt and the stories of that beach being woven around the storyline of that movie. Of course, in recent times there have been blockbusters such as "Dil Chahta Hai" and "Josh" to name a few.

Over the times, it has not only been Bollywood, but also the south Indian film industry which has caught the fascination for Goa and other vernacular film industries have taken good notice of the Goan touch and beauty to ensure that their shooting schedule has Goa as their favourite stopover. Besides, Hollywood has also shown keen interest in the state of Goa for shooting their movies. Therefore Goa now sees itself as a hotspot fro all film shootings, serials, documentaries , video clips for advertisements, calendar shoots, portfolio shoots, Photography clinics etc.

Earlier, Goa had no special body to grant licences for film shoots. However after Goa began hosting the "international film festival of India" since 2004, the ESG or the Entertainment Society of Goa took birth and it is now the body to grant the permission for any shooting to be done in Goa.

How to undertake film shooting in Goa

To carry out film shooting in Goa, Line producers who are the initiators of the shoot should contact the ESG and give details of their schedule with dates and the locations of the film shooting in Goa. Thereafter, depending in the type of location chosen, the ESG contacts the departments concerned surrounding that particular location. For instance, if the location is a beach, the tourism department is contacted. The concerned department gets back to the ESG and upon the compilation of all the necessary permissions and grants, the ESG prepares one main slip which okays the shooting. The entire procedure takes a period of about 10 days.

The ESG also states its clauses and conditions of the shooting in Goa and these are mentioned in the permission slip given to the line producers. The major conditions being that there should be no hindrance to the flow of traffic or human activity at the places of shooting, no shooting to be undertaken inside an archaeological structure, no nudity and no garbage to be left behind. Generally most beaches in the Vasco-da-Gama area of Goa are banned due to the naval presence in the area. The ESG is expected to enforce these conditions strictly and any contraventions by the shooting team are to be penalised.

Film shootings in Goa are therefore more organised now than before and the government of Goa works together with the ESG in a co-ordinated pattern ensuring that the filmmakers find the experience of obtaining permissions and shooting in Goa to be a very pleasant one. Goa naturally has an interest in film shootings as it only helps to showcase Goa to the rest of the world as a tourist destination thereby increasing its market potential and as a result adding to the revenues of the state.

Goa Public Transport Fed ups ante.Announces strike on HSRPs

In the building resentment against the enforcement of the high security registration plates for all vehicles in Goa, the All Goa public transport federation became the latest body to announce its agitational stance against the implementation of the High security registration plates in Goa and threatened to go on a one day token strike if the government of Goa fails to stop the process of its implementation.

The federation constitutes al transport operators in Goa including bus owners, taxi operators, rickshaw and two wheelers and pilots who are all set to observe the strike on Monday Aug 31 2009.

Interestingly, the strike call given by the transporters body has the backing of the state unit of the youth congress which had earlier protested the state governments move at Margao when they almost laid siege to the RTOs office last week.

It may be recalled that Goa had advocated the use of high security registration plates making the same mandatory to all vehicles as per the directives of the supreme court under the central motor vehicles act and a Mumbai base company  Shimnit Utsch had bagged the contract amidst opposition by the BJP.

The state of Goa has over 6.5 lakh vehicles registered with the road transport organisation (RTO). The representatives of the various transport organisations lamented that their memorandum made to the chief Minister Mr Digambar Kamat on August 10 with a deadline of seven days had no response and with the deadline expiry on August 18, they had no choice but to  hold the strike which was held in abeyance due to the ganesh chaturthi celebrations in Goa.

The organisation alleged that the representatives in the assembly have not dwelled well enough on the scheme of HSRP and pointed out that the number plates are of no use in Goa as the state has no infrastructure to ensure that the features in the number plate are complimented by proper implementation like tracking of vehicles and other security related aspects as also the absence of a data bank in Goa.

The leader of the opposition Mr Manohar Parrikar had also alleged that there appeared to be a scam in the implementation of the HSRP scheme while saying that Goans were unnecessarily paying double the price compared top the west Bengal government where the number plates were charged at Rs 282 and 441 while people in Goa have to spe4nd Rs 550 and Rs 1250 for such plates.

Now CCTVs to ogle at you in Goa, at Margao and Tivim

CCTVs have finally made their way into strategic locations in Goa and the first hosts have been the railway stations in Goa at Margao and Thivim which will come under the eye of CCTVs beginning Monday August 24, 2009. Both the facilities currently installed with closed circuit televisions would become operational on Monday after the inauguration at the hands of Konkan railway corporation managing director Mr Anurag Mishra.

With terror threats looming over Goa since the end of last year after the Mumbai terror attacks, the CCTV project was contemplated for Goa's railway stations of Margao and Thivim and are being installed at an estimated cost of Rs 40 lakh. While Margao was the lone station initially mooted for the project after the Mumbai carnage, the Konkan railway corporation however sanctioned the project for the two railway stations to contain the terror threat in a more wholesome manner.

Besides helping the cause of warding off terror threats in the state, the CCTVs are expected to help the law enforcement agencies in the state  in tracking down criminals in Goa who commit crimes and flee out of the state via the Margao railway station.

It has been earlier experienced by the police that the trail of most criminal offences in Margao and in the state have led sniffer dogs to the Margao railway station in cases mostly related to thefts and burglaries. The CCTVs are expected to help keep a close tab on such elements who use the Margao railway station as their mode of fleeing Goa after committing the crimes.

I-day sees new day at South Goa with a CFC

Independence day saw e-governance in Goa taking another step as the Chief Minister Mr Digambar Kamat inaugurated the Citizen Facilitation centre at Margao on 15th August 2009 while reiterating his governments policy to serve the needs of the aam aadmi in Goa as the CFC was launched at the south Goa collectorate.The center is expected to help the citizens immensely in undertaking their work without difficulties and delays.The system has been devised and implemented by the National informatics centre.

The CFC which was contemplated around a decade ago has finally taken shape in 2009 and ensures online registration and also includes a touch based screen kiosk to access information thus squeezing in a new era of governance wherein the common man of Goa would be relieved from queues and delays to access information about his/her applications and files.

The Citizens facilitation center is believed to be a virtually paperless office and the information regarding the applications and the files would henceforth be available at the facilitation centre where citizens are expected to encounter friendlier staff. Hereafter people would be spared from coming up and down the collectorate building seeking details about their files and applications and with a reference number, would be able to access details which would usher in more transparency and provide a track as to where the files are held up.

The aim of the government is to start the process of e-governance at the taluka level by December end and also install the information kiosks at different parts of the district so that people seeking information need not actually go to the collectorate. A transparent e-governance throughout the state of Goa was said to be the endeavour of the government.

The Chief secretary Mr Sanjay Srivastava also informed that feedback about the centre would be sought from the public and for one month such feedback would be analysed regarding the functioning of the new system

Goa number plate contract comes under Parrikars lens

The ambitious plans of the government of Goa to issue a contract for high security number plates has come under the scanner following a calling attention motion by the opposition leader Mr Manohar Parrikar who drew the attention of the transport minister expressing the “fear and anxiety” in the minds of the people of Goa about the decision of the government to grant the contract of fixing the high security registration plates to Shimnit Utsch Private limited who the opposition leader claimed, have a dubious background.

As a consequence of the attention drawn by the opposition leader, the Chief Minister Mr Digambar Kamat and the speaker of the Goa assembly Mr Pratapsingh Rane, urged the transport Minister Mr Ramakrishna Dhavlikar to reconsider the move of allotting the contract to the company.

Mr Manohar Parrikar alleged that the director/promoter of the company Shimnit Utsch has a criminal background. Also he pointed out that the same company was denied the contract vide order dated November 13 2006 by the director of transport due to their ineligibility. Also the BJP stalwart pointed out that the company had quoted exorbitant rates as compared to rates quoted by other companies in other states . Also traditional painters of number plates in Goa numbering around 200 were under risk of losing their traditional business adding to the unemployment scenario in the state. 

Mr Parrikar also questioned the need of only approaching one supplier of such High security registration plates(HSRP) while there were other such suppliers existing in the country and implied that the government of Goa was creating an unnecessary monopoly situation which was against the interest of the consumer.

In reply the transport minister maintained that the director of the company who was convicted in a criminal case had resigned from the company and was further replaced by his son. Also the Minister informed that the company had won the contract after quoting the lowest rates. However the speaker Mr Pratapsingh Rane brushed off the justification about signing the agreement with the company in good faith and suggested that the false information if any by the company had insulted this faith and hence the government could terminate the contract.

Mr Parrikar informed the house that no other state had made HSRP compulsory and that the governments of Rajasthan and Karnataka were already restrained by the high courts with a stay on the subject .

Goa committee want changes to Land Revenue Code

The age old land revenue code in Goa is crying for an amendment according to the ad hoc committee on finance which has recommended a suitable amendment to the code thus empowering a single authority to manage the process pertaining to mutations and partitions. Presently citizens are facing grave hardships in completing formalities for mutations and partitions of their plots due to the inherent problems in the land revenue code.

Hundreds of cases pertaining to mutation and partitions are therefore piled up in Goa and the citizens are seeking that the partition and mutation of the plots be done at the same time before the deputy collector. Complaints are aplenty about the adjournment of matters without hearing and the authorities are known to be saddled with their own official work.

The panel has therefore advocated the need to vest powers in a single authority which would invariably save the applicants their time, money and hardship and have sought a suitable amendment to the land revenue code in Goa to accord the jurisdiction to a single authority.

Presently, the mamlatdar of the respective taluka deals with the mutation process under section 96 of land revenue code 1968 while the jurisdiction of partition under section 61 of the land revenue code is with the respective deputy collector under delegated powers of the collector.

Goa to implement High security registration plates

The long awaited high security registration plates(HSRPs) are finally on their way to reality in Goa very soon, possibly within a fortnight. The enforcement of such plates on vehicles in Goa will make the state the third in the whole country to employ such registration plates which are expected to enhance the tracking of vehicles thereby posing as a deterrent to vehicle related crimes in Goa.

The High security registration had been given the green signal by the Supreme Court which set a deadline of three months for the central and the state governments to implement the high security plates, removing all uncertainty thus setting up August 4th as the deadline for the implementation.The HSRPs were also recommended by a technical committee of experts which reviewed the central Motor Vehicle act 1988.

The HSRPs are empowered with seven security features which help to track down stolen vehicles, prevent their misuse and also trace culprits involved in hit-and-run cases. The move is also expected to help against tax evasion at the time of registration and transfers during resale of the vehicle besides bringing the large unorganised sector of licence plate painters under the organised sector.

The state government of Goa has reportedly awarded the HSRP contract to Shimnit Utsch India Pvt Ltd who are billed as the leading licence plate manufacturers in the country. The HSRPs are plates with inherent security features such as retro-reflective sheeting,embossed numbers, IND inscription, unique laser code and snap lock fitment which therefore make these plates tamper proof and prevent vehicle thefts and misuse. The online data is expected to provide real time support to all kinds of vehicles with the HSRPs.

So how does one migrate to the High security registration plate era? All the existing vehicles are given upto two years time to upgrade to the HSRP implementation of the licence plates. The procedure involves approaching the RTO for an application form and the payment for the HSRPs for two wheelers is Rs 550 while for four wheelers it is 1,200. VAT and other taxes are extra.

Margao Municipal Council scouting land for garbage

It is now the turn of the Margao Municipal council to follow in the footsteps of its bigger sibling  the corporation of the city of Panjim(CCP), to hunt for a site to treat garbage in view of its long term requirements. Daily garbage collection in the commercial capital of Goa at Margao is in excess of 50 tonnes which is bound to increase with the passage of time. As such the Sonsoddo garbage dump is likely to be overburdened with any additional load of garbage, which has therefore necessitated the need to look for alternative sites.

The Sonsoddo garbage dump which has been spread over an area of 16,000 sq metres of land is already burdened with piles of garbage which has collected over the years. Moreover the landfill site which is to be set up by one of the two bidders is expected to gobble up around 6000 sq m of land. Add another area which the council plans to separate as an area for treatment of medical waste, and the treatment plant itself which is expected to take some more portion of the land besides the composting units  to be built in the dumpyard, the Sonsoddo garbage dump seems to be in a complete overburdened territory.

However the landfill site which would take around a chunk of 6000 sq metres of land is apparently available for garbage operations after being topped after meeting certain norms. However more land would be required in view of additional waste generation. But although the council had acquired over 30 thousand sq metres of land in the adjoining areas in the nineties, for the purpose of garbage treatment, no work on the landmass was ever taken up due to protests from villagers around the area.

The council is currently engaged in finalising one of the two bidders - IL&FS and Fomento who are jointly bidding on one side and Ramky Enviro Eng Pvt Ltd who are the other bidders for the Sonsoddo garbage project and the winning bid will sign an agreement spanning the next 25 years. The winner of the bid will therefore be entrusted with the responsibility of segregating the garbage, composting it and also filling out landfill operations.

Goa's opposition mucks up sweeping machines

The much hyped sweeping machines procured by the government of Goa at a steep cost of over 97 lakh came in for a sharp criticism from the leader of the opposition in the assembly Mr Manohar parrikar who labelled the exercise of procuring them as a 'failure". The Goa government has so far procured five sweeping machines intended to sweep and clean Municipality areas in the state of Goa.

Pointing out the futility of using these machines in the state, the opposition leader indicated that the machines could be used effectively on only two major roads of Goa at Panjim's Dayanand Bandodkar road and M G Road. The five machines have been procured at a cost of 97 lakh while an equal number of tractors have been purchased at a cost of 26 lakh to pull these sweeping machines.

In a scathing remark, the opposition leader observed that no study of Goan roads had been undertaken before deciding to procure these machines. Justifying his stance he pointed out to the bends and turns on Goan roads which would make it difficult for these machines to negotiate on such roads and therefore the utilisation of these machines is going to be very minimal which would eventually result in their being kept aside.

The five tractor towed sweeping machines have been procured for four municipal councils of Margao, Panjim, Mormugao and Mapusa.

Replying to the opposition leaders critical remarks, Mr Joaquim Alemao , the Minister for Urban development said that the cost comparison of tractor towed sweeping machines( costing 18.53 lakh) compared to truck mounted sweeping machines( costing Rs 40 Lakh) was favourable to the purchase of the former and therefore the GSUDA ( Goa State Urban Development Authority)was of the view that considering all factors the tractor towed machines were more suitable to Goan roads. He  also informed that the machines were procured after a number of municipal councils and the corporation of the city of Panjim passed resolutions to that effect.

CS approves rice mill near Goa's only sugar factory

Goa's only sugar factory, the  Sanjivani Sugar factory which is reeling under losses incurred by the factory over the years is expected to get a parallel establishment in the form of a rice processing mill to cope up with the losses. The proposal was approved last week by the Chief secretary of Goa Mr Hauzel Haukhum in a special  committee meeting chaired by him. A 50% financial assistance for the project is to be granted by the central government while the remaining balance will have to be raised by the factory.

While the factory is awaiting the final sanction of central funds  for the modern mill , the management is not averse to investing the balance 50% with a view to reap in profits by running of the mill. The factory officials have reportedly conducted various studies  and they have ascertained that most of the farmers in Goa are willing to process their paddy at the mill, should it be set up. The factory has in the meanwhile narrowed down on a particular type of mill costing around Rs 1.5 crore.

It is believed that nearly 4000 tonnes of paddy is transported outside Goa for processing and the farmers of these quantities are willing to shift loyalties to the new rice mill when it comes up. There are an estimated 2000 farmers in Goa who have shown their willingness to process the paddy in Goa if such a plant were to come up in the state.

Sugarcane farmers are not expected to be disturbed by the modern rice mill in the factory. There are presently over 1200 farmers who grow sugarcane and provide nearly 50,000 tonnes every season to the factory.The factory needs over two lakh tonnes of sugarcane to be run profitably, but Goa produces only fifty thousand tonnes of sugarcane, which is insufficient. 

Goa Police get "INSAS" shot in the arm

Post 26/11, the government of Goa was stirred into the stark reality which had already embarrassed the Mumbai Police after their lack of mere preparedness to face terrorists was exposed with the megapolis' city police found toting with antique pistols and guns which made them look like virtual schoolboys caught at recess time when the terrorists from across the border struck the most telling blows at different locations in Mumbai's hotels, airports, restaurants and an Jewish centre on November 26 2008. Goa was feared to be the next terror target which had made the administration get up and take the much overdue decision of beefing up its armoury to meet current standards of defence preparedness.

It was therefore hearty to note that the initiative has finally borne fruit with the Goa government procuring over 100 INSAS rifles as part of the plan to gradually phase out the nearly 3000 odd .303 rifles which the force has been so far been using.

However the procurement of the guns has been part of regular haphazard  purchase practices where the guns are there but no ammunition to use them. No doubt the guns procured last month lay unused for over a month untill the state government of Goa received a consignment of ammunition from the Delhi Police on loan. The guns have now been distributed to various police stations in the state to enable the '"men in uniform" to train themselves in the use of the sophisticated rifle.

The rifles which cost over Rs 10 lakh, have been distributed to police stations in Panaji, Calangute, Anjuna, Pernem and Porvorim polices stations in the North of Goa and Vasco, Colva, Margao, Verna, Cuncolim and Canacona in South Goa and the training of the policemen on the gun, is currently in progress .

The Goa state police is presently on a state of high alert following intelligence inputs regarding terror threat on the west coast of India and the possible eventualities during the forthcoming Independence day celebrations. Patrolling at vital points in Goa has therefore been intensified and the Police have increased their co-ordination with fishermen, hoteliers, cyber cafe, PCO owners and taxi operators, alerting and sensitising them about the security steps.

Hotels, guest houses,cyber cafes, PCO's and other places have therefore become the frequent stops for beat officers to maintain regular checks all over Goa.

Margao to see an overdue new bus stand soon

The city of Margao has a vintage bus stand which has seen the ravages of time but which is mysteriously ignored as almost being inconsequential to its citizens' welfare. The present KTC bus stand at Margao resembles a shambolic picture of the state of affairs that the commercial city is facing from the state government.However as per the latest buzz, things are expected to change with the Goa state Infrastructure development corporation (GSIDC) working on a ambitious proposal to construct a brand new bus stand with a multistoried complex at the same site by using the over 60,000 sq metres of vacant land available in the area.

The bus stand at Margao is expected to cost a staggering Rs 300 crore for which a public-private partnership is being worked out by the government. while serving as a model bus stand, for intercity and inter state buses, the area is likely to be transformed into a commercial hub and therefore contribute as a revenue model for the state of Goa which will help the government earn money.

The Kadamba transport corporation has forwarded a proposal to the government of Goa which had earlier approved the concept and now has forwarded the file to the GSIDC for its approval. The new bus stand will be adjoining an entire hub of commercial activity with the new South Goa collectorate building complex being its immediate neighbour on one side and the SGPDA market as another hotspot of commercial activity on the other side.

Depending on the success of this business model, the government is likely to replicate the hubs at the Panaji bus stand and subsequently at Porvorim, where the corporation has already got land in its possession.

The entire proposal is however in its stage of infancy and the GSIDC will be now looking into its details before presenting it to the GSIDC board for approval. Simultaneously, discussions are likely to involve the finance and the transport department to check upon the overall implications that the project is likely to present.

The GSIDC will however have to enter into a memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with the KTC, which is the owner of the land in Margao, and would need its approval before advertising the expression of interest for the project.The project is likely to take a few years before being a reality on the ground.

Enjoy Goa in the monsoons-Goa tourism campaigns

The bountiful rainfall in the month of July has certainly egged the business acumen of the tourism industry in the state of Goa and the state government now wants to reap the benefits of such an abundant outpouring from the skies by launching a massive campaign all over the country especially in the dry north India to woo tourists to the state of Goa to enjoy the green, clean and friendly Goa during the monsoons.

The state of Goa has been fortunate to receive a bountiful rainfall as is normal in Goa  in the monsoon. The rains have however not ventured into some areas of the country and the north and west of India is still experiencing scorching heat. Goa is estimated to have received over 1,553 mm rainfall till date with over 51.4 mm received only during the last 24 hours itself.

The Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG)has approached the state government to step up its drive to promote the state in the Indian tourism market. TTAG has proposed two suggestions which include the revival of the "Goa 365 days"  tourism campaign which was pointed out as a catchy phrase and was recollected as being a successful campaign. The other suggestion is to aggressively promote Goa through advertisements in various travel magazines and news publications in markets which are Goa friendly according to the TTAG President Mr Ralph de Sousa.

On its part the tourism department has suggested campaigns on radio stations such as FM stations across the country in the form of jingles and advertisements which is expected to do the trick. Presently the GTDC has an average of 60% occupancy at its residences on the Goan coastline in Calangute, Miramar, Panjim and Colva. It is believed that it is much cooler in Goa in the rains and as a result  a lot of tourists from northern India make Goa their most favourite destination at this time of the year.

The Goa tourism Development Corporation is also expected to take part in the travel and trade fair at Kolkata which commences from July 11, the international travel mart at Bangalore from July 18 and another trade fair at Ahmedabad in Gujarat from July 31. These moves are being strategically planned at a time when the hotels in Goa have reduced their room tariffs but have however met limited success in attracting larger number of tourists to Goa.

Meanwhile the state of Goa has been sanctioned over Rs 43 crore by the central government for integrated development of infrastructure for heritage and river cruise development on the two Goan rivers of Mandovi and Zuari. Under the plan, the infrastructure expected due to the project is a new stat of the art "finger jetty" model for Santa Monica jetty in Panaji which berths cruise boats operating in the Mandovi river. Besides in the vicinity, a multi storeyed parking facility, reception area, cafeteria and boat cruise offices will be coming up.

Mamata includes Margao railway station for world class plans

After local Goan politicians of the Congress were crying sore over the ill treatment meted out to Goa by not mentioning its name at all in the railway budget presented by the Railways Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee last week, the railway Minister seems to have heard all the grievances of the congressmen from Goa and now appears to have made amendments to her budgeted speech by including Goa in her list as a station awaiting upgradation to world class facilities.

It does seem that Mamata has realised late that Goa does figure on the railway map of India. She mentioned Goa while replying to a marathon debate on the Railway budget which was passed by  a voice vote in the Lok sabha on Thursday.

Announcing that more railway stations in the country would be upgraded to world class status, Mamata Banerjee announced the names of Goa and Calicut, thus adding to the list of fifty stations already mentioned by her for this purpose. The Margao Railway station (also known as the MADGAON railway station) in South Goa was thus included into this elite list and can now be expected to be upgraded to world class status.

The railway minister was criticised by Goa politicians for ignoring the state in her presentation of the budget proposal last week where Goa's name did not figure in her scheme of things. Among other things, politicians in Goa have sought the introduction of special trains for Goa, it being a famous tourist destination in the world. The Chief Minister of Goa  Mr Digambar Kamat welcomed the new announcement made by Ms Mamata Banerjee and thanked her for the same.

Goa drops plans for a private medical college

Instead of allowing a private medical college to be set up in the state, the Goa government has now decided that it will instead increase the current intake capacity of the sole medical college in the state, the Goa Medical college by planning to increase the number of seats by another 100 students. The government will therefore approach the medical council of India seeking its approval to increase the number of seats in the undergraduate course in Medicine.

Additionally, the health minister indicated plans of the Goa government to link various government-run hospitals to the Goa Medical College in order to build up the required capacity for starting the diplomat of national board courses in the state.

Goa EDC plans more growth hubs in Goa's hinterland

The Economic development Corporation (EDC) of Goa has resolved to build three more growth hubs in the state of Goa and has therefore proposed to acquire over 5 lakh square metres of land in three different talukas of Goa which are predominantly the hinterland of the state, namely the talukas of Pernem, Ponda and Quepem, to enable these areas to commercially develop through the growth hubs.

The grand idea is supported by the success that the EDC achieved through the commercial development of around 1.7 lakh sq metres of land at Patto Plaza in Panjim city.

The move is expected to infuse commercial development in these three talukas of Goa to create growth hubs and is expected to fetch investments to the tune of Rs 2000 crore besides creating employment opportunities for Goan youth.

The projection in the draft regional plan 2021 already envisages these talukas as growth hubs and the EDC has confirmed that this acquisition will be in line with the projection in the draft regional plan to have growth hubs or regional centres and the EDC will act as a catalyst towards that growth.

The EDC managing director W V R Murthy said that they would like to create infrastructure in these three places to attract the investments and are planning to target health, education, entertainment and tourism sectors.

EDC has projected a total cost of over Rs 200 crore for the acquisition and development of land in the three talukas.

Beach cleaning in Goa to go hi-tech

The beach capital of India, Goa is expected to introduce mechanized beach cleaning which is expected to be introduced within the month of August 2009 to help clean the beaches more efficiently.The endeavour being capital intensive, the project is expected to be implemented in a phased manner over a period of three years after which the entire Goan coastline will be equipped to clean the beaches mechanically.

For the start, two beach stretches in Goa, one in the north and the other in the south will be taken up for introducing the beach cleaning machines. The stretch to be covered will be a distance of eight to ten kilometers at the most crowded beaches in the north and south of Goa where high quantities of waste are being generated.

Besides cleaning of the beaches, scientific disposal of collected garbage is also expected to be taken up with the exercise and the garbage will be segregated at source and disposed in a planned manner. Certain norms are set to be introduced in the beach shack policy from the next coming season to tackle the menace of disposing collected garbage as much of the garbage on the populated beaches of Goa are generated by the beach shacks

According to the tourism ministers office, the beach cleaning machine is designed to clean an area of 20,0000 sq metres in a time of an hour and can pick up smallest objects from the sand such as cigarette butts etc. It does not affect the sand pattern or cause any hazardous environmental effects but leaves the beach clean.

Goa is now WiMAX positive

The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) on Monday 29th June 2009, launched the much awaited Wireless broadband service called Wimax in Goa. The WiMAX or "Worldwide interoperability for Microwave Access" is a telecommunications technology that provides wireless transmission of data.The service is currently available in Mandrem, Colvale, Siolim., Anjuna, Thivim, Mapusa, Calangute, Baga, Candolim, Pilerne, Porvorim, Panaji, Dona Paula, Cortalim, Kundaim, Vasco, Verna , Cuncolim, Chinchinim, Navelim, Mandopa, Margao, Mobor, Varca, Majorda and Colva, Benaulim is being covered under the Colva tower.

  BSNL has currently installed twenty five base transreceiver stations on mobile towers across the state of Goa predominantly in coastal and urban areas to serve the purpose and BSNL aims to take the benefits of broadband to customers across the state of Goa.

WiMAX can be accessed through a simple plug and play indoor device called the Customer Premise Equipment or CPE which allows upgrades to future upgrades as well.

How to get the WiMAX connection in Goa

Go to a  BSNL customer service centre and ask for a customer application form. A passport size photograph and proof of identity and proof of address is required.

A BSNL-SOMA network technician will visit your premises and check for feasibility of BSNL coverage and network strength in your respective area.

After the verification process is over, a payment of Rs 5000 is to be made towards the CPE ( Customer Premise Equipment) a simple plug-and-play indoor device which is about the size of a landline handset.

Next, a one month security deposit is to be deposited with BSNL which is as per the amount dependent on the pan chosen by you plus an amount of Rs 827 towards installation charges and service tax. Annual payments instead of monthly  are allowed a rebate equal to two months waiver.

The whole procedure is slated to take a maximum of 48 hours according to SOMA networks.

Plans currently available with BSNL

Home users have a choice of plans between 256 kbps and 512 kbps. The tariff for 256 kbps is Rs 1000 and for 512 kbps is Rs 1800 per month.

Business users have four options. Rs 4,400 for 256 kbps, Rs 8,000 for 512 kbps, Rs 12,000 for 1024 kbps and Rs 20,000 for 2048 kbps.

Home users have to purchase the CPE while business users can avail of a free CPE subject to conditions which include a 3 year guaranteed subscription. The cost of the CPE for all types of users has been fixed at Rs 5000.

CCP to plead with Church, Chief Minister, to use Bainguinim

Political heavyweights,  clergymen, a childrens school, a temple committee and other strong vociferous voices opposing the waste management plant slated to come up at Bainguinim has propelled the Corporation of the city of Panaji (CCP) to approach the Archbishop Phillip Neri Ferrao, and the Chief Minister besides approaching MLAs and others to intervene in the matter to find a solution to the vexed problem facing the corporation.

The CCP held a special meeting on Monday where it was resolved to request the Archbishop and the Chief Minister to solve the dispute with the Panchayat, residents of Old Goa and the parish Church.

In the meantime, in order to get rid of the garbage  right now, the CCP had decided to acquire land near the KTC bus stand on lease for segregating the city garbage before sending it to the treatment plant. the CCP also plans to build composting pits at the site and has assured that no garbage will be dumped there.

Goa police to patrol on "Robins"

In a bid to make the police presence more stronger in the state of Goa and to enhance the response time of distress calls received at Police control rooms in Goa, the Goa police will now be seen in a new patrolling mode on motorcycles which have been code named as "Robins" and which will be henceforth located at strategic locations all over the state of Goa.

Goa being highly urbanised and accessible by Roads, the "Robins" are efficient for intensive patrolling which may be required in certain areas of Goa and which can be achieved through mobile patrolling motorcycles, informed the Director General of Police Mr Bhimsen Bassi.

30 new motorcycles are initially being introduced for integrated beat patrolling in the state and these motorcycles will be under the operational control of PCR while the local police will have administrative control. The Robins will be assisted by mobile patrol vans and would be more effective while patrolling in congested places, busy market places , narrow lanes and during traffic congestion.

Due to the sharp rise in Goa's population and the influx of migrants into the state, it has forced the police to stretch their duty hours and the Robins are expected to help towards better community policing.

Goa being a tourist spot, it is imperative that the police presence in the streets as well as attendance to people in distress is available. Robins will be manned by two uniformed policemen which include a head constable and a police constable and will be provided with a wireless set for communications.