WEEKEND UPDATES

RICHEST WOMEN CANDIDATE?

PALLAVI Dempo, the BJP parliamentary candidate for south Goa, has declared assets of Rs1,400 crore. Pallavi Dempo has her own Bungalow in Altinho which is called the Pallavi Bungalow. It is worth Rs8 crore. Pallavi and Srinivas also own a flat at Vasant Vihar, Caranzalem, worth Rs1 crore. The couple owns two flats in “Sonata” at Miramar worth Rs3.5 crore. They have an apartment in Mumbai in a premium housing district on Napean Sea road worth Rs25 crore.

Strangely, they have two flats in London which are worth Rs10 crore each. Pallavi and Shrinivas have their own flats. Pallavi also owns a flat in Dubai worth Rs1.3 crore.  Together with husband Shrinivas Dempo she owns three Mercedes Benz cars and one Cadillac. They also own one Mahindra Thar. The total value of their cars is shown as only Rs2.5 crore. Pallavi has Rs9.9 crore worth of bank deposits. She has an investment of Rs217 crores in shares and mutual funds. The immovable assets of Pallavi are estimated at Rs28crore against the assets of Shrinivas at  Rs83 crore.

Coming to inheritance Pallavi inherited Rs5crore and acquired Rs23 crore worth of property. In respect of movable assets which include jewellery Pallavi has Rs255 crore as against the Rs994 crore of Shrinivas. The amount of jewellery is not shown separately. Coming to the assets of Shripad Naik the BJP candidate for north Goa have increased by 61% since 2019.  The total assets declared by him are Rs10.8 crore. Shripad has commercial land worth Rs5.2 crore and a commercial building worth Rs1.6 crore. His residential building is worth Rs1.8 crore. He has an ancestral house valued at Rs1.6 crore.

Shripad has also shown liabilities of Rs5 crores. Shripad claims to have spent only Rs11 lakh on his election in 2019. The Congress candidates Captain Viriato Fernandes and Ramakant Khalap are in the process of filing their nominations and may have done so already.

 Manoj Porab of Goa Revolutionary Party and Tara Kerkar, an independent candidate from Vasco, are also expected to file their nomination and may have done so already at the time we are writing this. The polling day in Goa is May 7, 2024. Vote wisely for a change.

POLL HOLIDAY ON APRIL 21

THE Goa government has declared a paid holiday on April 21 to enable Maharashtrian and Kannadigas to participate in the election in the neighbouring state. Industrial workers, daily wage workers of government, department contract workers and even casual workers who are entitled to vote in Karnataka and Maharashtra will get a paid holiday. There is a lot of anger among Kannadigas in Goa over the demolition of illegal structures belonging to Kannadigas in Sangolda.   The government of Karnataka has protested against the demolition of structures occupied by Kannadigas in Goa.

Interestingly, the Goa government has sharply restricted the possession and transportation of more than one bottle of IMFL and six bottles of beer between April 27 and April 29 because of the Panchayat election.

DOT ATB AS SCAM

THE ATB program of the Central Department of Tuberculosis is a scandal. DOT spends hundreds of crore on supplying very heavy-duty anti-TB drugs. The anti-TB drugs are given to patients free of charge. The protocol is that presumed TB patients are required to take three capsules of the very heavy-duty TB drug for six weeks. These are combination drugs which contain four different drug ingredients. These drugs have severe side effects.

After the first six weeks TB patients are required to take maintenance doses of diminishing strength for eight to ten months. The DOT doctors claim that TB bacteria are   contained within six weeks. However, the medicines have to be taken for eight to ten months to prevent a relapse.

While ATB is given freely there are no tablets for redressing the side effects of TB drugs. The doctors may claim that TB is cured but the side effects can cripple you. Even after six months of taking my TB drugs the right side of my body remains more or less paralysed. The DOT programme does not make any provision for the rehabilitation of patients who have recovered from TB.

The TB tablets may be free but the rehabilitation in terms of attendants and physiotherapy adds up to Rs10 lakh plus, plus. I have been destroyed physically and financially. In any case in many TB cases there is no clear evidence that the patient has TB. Patients are presumed to have TB based on clinical symptoms which could match many other diseases.

A TB cure is achieved six months down the line and the patient should be certified free from TB. When I was discharged from GMC’s Geriartric Ward 115 I was verbally told that I was cured of TB, but this was not recorded on my discharge certificate. As a result I still continue to take may TB tablets faithfully for better or for worse. Can anyone explain what the protocol for a cured TB of the spine patient is?

(Contributed by Rajan Narayan)  

BABUSH’S TALEIGAO SCHOOL

PERHAPS tired of recommending students to private schools, Atanasiao Babush Monserrate started his own St Michael’s school. Students who can’t  get admission to any other schools and particularly the children of migrant workers are welcome to the St Michael’s school. The St Michael’s school has state-of-the-art equipment.  Babush also reportedly pays the teachers very competitive salaries. However he tells teachers that they must make sure that the students pass even if they have to take extra classes.

GIRISH IN MANIPUR

TO ensure that Goa Congress leader Girish Chodankar (Congress politician-cum-teacher, currently serving as All-India Congress Committee In-charge of Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim)  does not interfere with the elections in Goa, he has been posted to Manipur as chief observer. Manipur which has two parliamentary seats like Goa will go to the poll soon.

The BJP has tried to polarise Manipur along communal lines. Manipur is primarily Christian. Girish has been posting pictures of him with the archbishop there. He has also been complaining and reporting extensively about the harassment of  Catholics in Manipur.

GOAN REAL ESTATE

GOAN real estate has become too expensive. Even a flat in an upmarket building like “Sonata” can cost you Rs5 crore. If you want an old Portuguese villa it can cost you as much as Rs20 crore. It is much cheaper to invest in property in Dubai and Portugal. In the case of Portugal if you invest an equivalent of Rs10 crore or more in property you get a permanent visa and you can also get citizenship of Portugal.

Property in Dubai is cheaper than in Mumbai or even in Goa. Dubai has reclaimed large areas from the sea and built high-rise apartments and villas for the bold and beautiful rich and powerful from India. A lot of Indian film stars including Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan have villas in the Gulf countries. Even in travelling air fares to Thailand and Sri Lanka are less than the fare to Goa from Delhi during the peak season.

UPSC TOPPER

ADITYA Srivastava of Lucknow who is this year’s 2024 topper in the Indian Administrative Services exam is an IIT graduate in electrical engineering. Earlier he was selected for the Indian Police Service.  Aditya claims that he made maximum use of Google and chatGPT to answer his exams. Aditya worked for Global investment banks like Goldman Sachs. He is a self-confessed dinosaur junkie.  This is not surprising as kids never outgrow their fascination for dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are huge animals that lived on the earth millions of years ago. They were made popular by films on dinosaurs. Even school kids know the different species of dinosaurs which once roamed the earth.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR!

THE 133rd Birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar was celebrated with  pomp and enthusiasm at a state level function held in  the State Level function held in capital city Panjim on April 14, 2024.   People from all over Goa came to celebrate the occasion at the  Ambedkar garden and they paid rich tributes to the “architect” of Indian Constitution.   

SS Gill (secretary, Tribal Welfare, IAS) in the presence of Ajit Panchawadkar (director, Social Welfare),  Dashrath Redkar (chairperson, SC-ST Commission), Deepak Karmalkar (MD of SC and OBC Finance & Development Corporation), Devidas Gaonkar, and others offered floral tributes and paid homage at the statue of Dr Ambedkar in the garden grounds. SS Gill in his speech said that Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar has contributed substantially to nation-building.  Deepak Karmalkar detailed the various activities being conducted by ST, SC Commission for the welfare of the community.

Everyone was urged to follow the principles of Dr Ambedkar and work hard to achieve the desired goals of success in life. Ajit Panchawadkar welcomed the gathering while a musical group of Kala Academy presented a welcome song.  Dr Dayanand Rao compered the function, Devidas Gaonkar proposed the vote of thanks.

BITS PILANI FOR KIDNEY HEALTH

BITS Pilani Goa complex witnessed a surge of activity on Sunday, April 14 as over 270 enthusiasts   participated in a walkathon/cyclathon organized under the banner “Be Active for Your Kidneys.” The event aimed at raising awareness about kidney health and the importance of an active lifestyle, saw enthusiastic participation from all age groups. The event was jointly organised by Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) in association with Manipal Hospitals, BITS Pilani, BITS BiocyTiH Foundation & supported by  IMA Goa State, Vasco Cycling Club & MES College.

The event was flagged off by noted industrialist Nitin Kunkoliecar and Dr Suman Kundu (director, BITS). Participants could choose between a 5-km walk or 12.5 km cycle route. The event kicked off at 7.15 am from BITS B Dome and culminated at the same location. A festive atmosphere ruled throughout the event, and “We are thrilled with the turnout today,” said Dr Amol Mahaldar (HoD of Nephrology, Manipal Hospitals,  one of the event organizers.

Shrinivas Dempo (president, GCCI) shared,  “This shows the increasing awareness about the importance of kidney health and the positive impact that exercise can have. We hope this event inspires people to make physical activity a regular part of their lives.”

The walkathon/cyclathon was not just about exercise but also about education with interactive quiz & lectures providing participants with valuable information on kidney disease prevention, healthy habits, and the importance of regular checkups. The event concluded with a medal distribution ceremony for all the finishers in both the walk and cycle categories. There were also lucky draw prizes for participants, adding to the excitement. Dr Surendra Prasad (director, Manipal Hospitals), Chandrakant Gawas, Dr Jennifer Kamat and Lalit Saraswat were present. Ambika Dhakenkar, dy director—GCCI, coordinated the event.

SHOWCASING UNIQUE GOAN EXPERIENCES

THE Goa Tourism department hosted quite a number of experiences for international buyers invited at GITM 2024 which took place on April 3 and 4, 2024 at Dr Shyama Prasad In-door Stadium. The experiences showcased the diverse cultural and natural heritage of Goa. It was a meticulously curated program focusing on Goa’s cultural and natural treasures and also emphasized the importance of responsible tourism.

From the mesmerizing bird watching excursion at Karmali Bird Sanctuary, guided by wildlife experts who shared insights into the local and migratory bird species of Goa, a UNESCO heritage walk through the iconic landmarks of Goa, giving an opportunity to delve into the rich history of the region, offering a glimpse into the glorious past of Goa through its basilicas and monuments, to Goa’s vibrant Latin Quarters in Panjim, where local culture was experienced  sipping on traditional feni and urrak during a guided tour and a sound and light show at Aguada Fort – just about everything was covered. History, culture, traditional cuisines and beverages, recreation activities and more. All of it testified to the commitment of the Tourism Department in promoting sustainable and regenerative tourism in Goa.

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