ADEUS RAUL NICOLAU GONSALVES
THE first Goan Catholic Archbishop Emeritus Raul Nicolau Gonsalves passed away at 8.54 am on July 1, 2022. He was made archbishop of Goa in 1978, 17 years after the Liberation of Goa. Archbishop Raul Gonsalves was an extremely compassionate and considerate leader of the flock. Monsignor Gonsalves was greatly revered by the clergy and lay people alike.
Mons Gonsalves managed to communicate very effectively despite being educated in Portuguese. He was a nationalist and his allegiance was totally to India. All archbishops in the past were Roman Catholics of Portuguese origin. He retired from his position as archbishop in 2004 to make way for the present Archbishop Filipe Neri who has been nominated to the collegiate of Cardinals by Pope Francis. May the Good Shepherd receive Mons Raul Gonsalves in his eternal fold. RIP.
ARJUNA AWARDEE GETS HOUSE
OTILIA Mascarenhas an Arjuna Awardee of Goan origin was shocked to find that her house in Succor had been sold by fraud to Mosis Fernandes in September 2013. It is taken to the Mapusa Civil Court six years to cancel the fake sale deeds. Mosis is reported to be involved in many such housing frauds. If you do not stay in Goa or your ancestral house has been left in the care of senior citizens, you would be well advised to check if your name is still present in the registrar of rights of properties.
ASSEMBLY RECORDS LOST
IN a shocking disclosure Chief Minister Pramod Sawant revealed that when the assembly was shifted from Adil Shah Palace to Porvorim, all the records of the proceedings of the first assembly session in 1962 till the year 2000 were destroyed. This includes very important historical debates concerning the merger of Goa with Maharashtra.
Fortunately, says Rajan Narayan, while he was writing the history of the Opinion Poll in his book `The Triumph of Secularism,’ he had secured copies of all the records of the assembly from the first election to the Opinion Poll. The book as well as the entire records are available at the Central Library. Those who were particularly concerned with the debates on the Opinion Poll featuring Jack Sequeira and other leaders can access the book Triumph of Secularism on goanobserver.in free of charge.
ALTO NO MORE
MARUTI Suzuki which pioneered the small car and made it affordable to the common man is considering withdrawing from the small car market which includes the popular Alto and Zen. This is because of insistence of the government to make it compulsory to make it six safety air bags mandatory in everywhere. This proposal is being aggressively promoted by Nitin Gadkari. Though similar facilities are made available by small car manufacturers abroad, Hyundai and others do not offer the same facilities in their cars.
WHITE RIVER RAFTING
WHITE river rafting is expected to be revived soon with the monsoon under way. White river rafting is presently being held for the last few years across the stretch of the river Sal in Valpoi. White river rafting involves a group of people rowing a boat through fast flowing river which might include waterfalls and it is a thrilling adventure like no other. Even if you do not know swimming you may participate in white river rafting, a growing and extremely enjoyable water sport as we have personally experienced in Dandeli. White water rafting is being conducted by John Pollard, a veteran in white water rafting adventures, and he takes 100% safety precautions. Starts in July down the river Mhadei in Valpoi! Better book in advance.
PANCHAYAT ELECTIONS ON SCHEDULE
THE High Court of Bombay at Goa quashed the State government’s decision to postpone the elections to 186 panchayats on Tuesday, June 29, 2022. Now the State has been directed to fix the date within the next three days and complete the entire election exercise within 45 days. The High Court has also pulled up the government for making allegations against the State Election Commission which is a constitutional authority. This is the fourth instance in the past two decades that the elections haven’t been held on time in keeping with the constitutional mandate in Article 243-E.
CBSE RESULTS ON JULY 10
CBSE is likely to announce class 10 board results around July 10. The delay this year has affected those wanting to take admission in India and abroad. Stop-start delays include the covid lockdowns which disrupted the schedule of classes all over the country, but the country is slowly coming to grips with normalcy.
ASSEMBLY DOCS NOT MISSING!
IN what appears to be a direct contradiction to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s remarks that files of the legislative assembly went missing during the shifting process from Adil Shah Palace to Porvorim, Secretary (Legislature) Namrata Ulman has said nothing is missing. All documents and video tapes from 1964 including audio tapes of former leaders are preserved and available in the record room situated on the first floor of the Goa Assembly Complex in Porvorim. The Legislature department has taken on the arduous task of digitizing all the records from 1972 to 2022. Well, that’s a relief if it is true!