CURTAIN RAISER FOR GOA STAR WOMEN AWARDS: Rebuild India Trust Goa and Goa Panchayat Mahila Shakti Abhiyan (GPMSA) in association with Directorate of Panchayat (government of Goa) have come up with the idea of presenting Goa Star Women Awards for the first time ever in Goa. These awards will recognise the contribution and achievement of women in Goa. the curtain-raiser function took place at the Seminar Hall of the Secretariat, Porvorim, on April 12, 2023. Minister for Social Welfare Subhash Faldesai unveiled the curtain raiser function of the award ceremony and released a brochure and nomination forms. Present were Krishna Daji Salkar (MLA, Vasco), Pallavi Dempo (director, Dempo Group of Companies), Nellie Rodrigues (chairperson and administrator of the Mahila Shakti Abhiyan) and Abhay Bhamaikar (chairperson, Rebuild India Trust). The minister in his address encouraged women to focus on their potential and strength and said the Griha Aadhar Scheme remains in continuation for widows with children below 18. Krishna Daji Salkar congratulated the organizers and appreciated their initiative to boost women empowerment, while Pallavi Dempo praised the innovative idea and said the awards will provide a strong platform for women. Also present were Nelly Rodrigues (chairperson and administrator of Mahila Shakti Abhiyan), Abhay Bhamaikar (chairperson of Rebuild India Trust) who briefed everyone about the Outreach Programs they conduct. The Goa Star Women Award 2023 ceremony will be held in May and the awards will be for individual and special categories. Women entitled for the award may fill in and submit their nomination forms before or up to April 30, 2023. Chief patron for the awards is Dr Pramod Sawant while Minister for Panchayats Mauvin Godinho and Pallavi Dempo are patrons.
POLITICIANS DON’T RETIRE!
IT is time we have a retirement age for politicians. To enable them to spend some time babysitting their grandchildren. This will give a chance for younger politicians to rise in political mainstream which is currently in dire straits.
Politics was once upon a time a noble mission. Today it is a self-seeking investment and no longer a vocation to do good for anyone except for self. Today it is compared to the world’s oldest profession for obvious reasons.
No politician hangs up his boots gracefully. With their experience and good fortune they may live up to the famous saying “Legacy is not what I did for myself. It’s what I am doing for the next generation.”
Politicians should heed the advice of Thomas Monson, an American religious leader who said “Let us not only remember the past and its required sacrifice, let us also remember that we are responsible to build a legacy for the generations which follow us.” Sadly, politicians today don’t leave a legacy that is worth following! Very “Silly Souls” aren’t they?
—Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar
MODI DREAMS!
WHAT was it if not an Easter Day drama in New Delhi with Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking to neutralize the international community? He who otherwise never bothered to participate in Christian festivals in the country! Surprisingly he was seen visiting the Sacred Heart Cathedral Church in New Delhi this year on Easter day greeting priests and the faithful and even taking selfies with them.
Personally, my take is that the PM was wooing Christian voters from Kerala or other parts of our country (a country claimed by many) to neutralize his international image, which has got a severe beating in recent times after the worldwide release of BBC documentaries and Rahul Gandhi’s comments about the Modi government in the UK.
Incidents of violence against Christians have increased from a little over a 100 in 2014 to 600 by the end of 2022, according to UCF toll free helpline (No:1800-208-4545) service. This year alone in 2023 we have already witnessed 200 incidents in the first 100 days. The Supreme Court of India too has taken a serious note of the aforesaid observation and repeatedly asked for details of violence against Christians across India since September 1, 2022.
Unfortunately, the Modi government deliberately refuses to give any details and seeks extensions, it has been finding it very difficult to find any genuine cases or incidents of forced conversions – it’s a pretext to target Christians in India.
Instead of desperately seeking to impress the international community and doing his Easter day gimmicks in a church in Delhi, he should strong action against leaders of his own party abusing Christians and spreading fake rumours to incite frequent communal riots organized by some Sangh Parivar goons! That would ensure his own long-term political survival in India.
—Jerry Fernandes, Saligao
VISUAL POLLUTION
IT MAY be noted that tourists come to Goa to give their eyes and minds a break with Goa’s green scenary. Instead, increasingly it is found that tourism stakeholders including MLAs owning hotels and restaurants put up huge posters and banners in public places and this is akin to visual pollution for the eyes!
The tens of thousands of posters and banners and flags and advertisements along roads add up to visual “noise.” This is something they are running away from back home and here in Goa too now they find such brainwashing spoiling the holiday state’s green landscapes.
I feel Goa needs intelligent, smart, professional, integrated tourism management that values the state’s tourism assets! Those coming to Goa are least interested in political hoardings and advertising posters in public spaces on trees and lampposts. This is most irrelevant, in-appropriate and mostly unintelligible. There are zero marketing benefits from this kind of roadside visuals, especially since most are chaotic and self-defeating. Goa’s public places should be freed from such advertising ruining its traditional green spaces!
—Mallan Kurien, Goa