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ACUTE SHORTAGE OF COMMERCIAL AND DOMESTIC LPG FORCES RESTAURANTS TO CLOSE
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ACUTE SHORTAGE OF COMMERCIAL AND DOMESTIC LPG FORCES RESTAURANTS TO CLOSE

Mar 14- Mar 20, 2026, Stray Thoughts March 13, 2026 , by

AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when Piyush Panchal posted on Facebook the new floor plan of the towering 12-storied new Junta House down 18 June road. For a Saturday following the week when in the last few decades, several old and revered educational institutions have been forced to shift from Panjim to the educational complex in Curca. For a Saturday following the week when the GULF war has affected the hospitality sector in India and in Goa. For a Saturday following the week when Dubai was considered the safest city or country in the world.
 AND a few stray thoughts on when Piyush Panchal posted on Facebook the new floor plan of the towering 12 storied new Junta House down 18 June road. The existing Junta House which still houses the RTO and other administrative departments was built way back in 1952 by the Portuguese regime. The 8-storied structure was the district administrative headquarters for Tiswadi. The Portuguese introduced a limited democratic set-up under which prominent citizens were invited to be members of the District Junta (administration) to advice on public works, taxes, and civic projects including the upkeep of the several gardens that had been laid out in the once upon a time new city of Panjim. Interestingly, several veteran citizens who subsequently were arrested when they took part in the Liberation struggle were members of the Junta. This included Dr Luis Gracious and even Vishwanath Lawande, Pundalik Gaitonde and Purshottam Kakodkar. These eminent Goans were consulted on government issues in the late 50s and represented Goan political opinion to the government of India during Portuguese rule. Later many nationalists boycotted or opposed Portuguese institutions. Portuguese officials as of now dominated the so called elected bodies. After Liberation Junta House along with the Adil Shah Palace became the administrative hub of the government of liberated Goa. Many important officers of the district administration including civil supplies department which issued ration cards were located on the top floors of the 8storied old Junta House. The JUnbta House was the only tall building which preceded Liberation. Junta House also had a few residential quarters and we remember visiting the home of the then HOD of the Medicine department of the GMC Dr NGK Sharma. On the ground floor there was a mini-restaurant and bar called Hot Lips managed by the notorious former Speaker of the Goa legislative assembly Dayanand Narvekar. Hot Lips had a mezzanine floor which was considered a love nest for the then Speaker who lost his job on the charge of molesting one of his female employees. The crowning glory of the Junta House after Liberatiion in 1961 was the astromonical telescope set up by the late historian Percieval Noronha. The root top telescope used to attract hundreds of students of astronomy and others interested in star gazing.
In the new floor plan of the proposed 12-storied new Junta Tower there is provision for a hotel and a restaurant. It is rumored that they may be a casino on top taking the place of the old observatory put up by the Astronomy Society. The new Junta House will have the grace and the very tropical friendly architecture of the old Junta House. The existing Junta House due for demolition has high roofs and large open windows for circulation of air. It also had tiled balconies and roofs and decorative arches. It was a very strong building which stood up to the elements for over 75 years. Panjim is regrettably bidding goodbye to all the old government buildings including the High Court in the heart of Panjim next to the building housing the excise commissioner. Even the Lyceum school set up by the Portuguese at Altinho where the late venerable Father Chico Vas presided may also be sold to the real estate sharks by the church. It might be noted that all the Models buildings have come up on land belonging to the Cannon Souto Maior which was leased to Peter Vaz of Models.

OLD ICONS MAY VANISH
AND a few stray thoughts on when in the last few decades several old and revered educational institutions have been forced to shift from Panjim to the educational complex in Curca. Ironically, Curca was once the biggest waste dump in Goa where all the garbage from north Goa was dumped. After the clean-up and the rehabilitation of Curca the first Manohar Parrikar government in 2002 decided to shift all the schools in Panjim to Curca on land offered to them at concessional rates. Amongst the schools to shift were the People’s High School and the Mary Immaculate School on the Rue the Ourem in the Fontainhas area. Subsequently, the Hegdewar school in Mala and Mushtifund also shifted. Perhaps the last to shift was the Dhempe higher secondary from Miramar. Only the Don Bosco and the Auxiliam School are left in Panjim along with the new St Michael’s school in Taleigao set up and managed by Babush Monserrate and family.
Now it is the turn of the colleges. Initially, the Dempo higher secondary school as shifted from Altinho to Miramar beach freeing up the area for developers. The Salgaocar law college which was set up by VM Salgaocar soon after Liberation is going to shift to the Kadamba plateau where th Sharda Mandir trust has a 50,000 sq mts plot. The claim of Dataraj Salgaocar is that the college is shifting to a larger premises with more parking space. We are not aware what will come up in the place of the present Salgaocar law college. It is only a matter of time that the Dempo college of arts, commerce and science is also shifted from Miramar beach.The real estate space released is too attractive to let educational institutions continue although all the industrialists of Goa can afford to retaint he iconic educational schools including the 60 years old Sharda Mandir in Miramar. I recall that the original founders of Sharada Mandir who included members of the Luis Gomes family were very reluctant to transfer it to Dattaraj Salgaocar. The fear was that the school will be shifted to some other location to make way for a 50ve star hotel since Dattaraj Salgaocar owned Marriott hotel had already come up. I remember up setting up a metting between Dattaraj Salgaocar and the late Anand Madgavkar, who was a keen member of the Sharada Mandir Trust. The trust had gone into various financial trouble as one of the trustees had diverted money to build a resort hotel on Divar Island. Dattaraj had to assure Anand Madgavkar that Sharada Mandir would not be shifted from its Miramar location. Among the distinguished alumni of Sharda Mandir is Srinivas Dempo. I understand that before the transfer of the trust to Dattaraj Salgaocar a written legal assurance was secured that the premises would not be used for any other purpose other than that of education. Incidentally, the government is moving the Goa Art College at Altinho and the Home Sciences and Architecture College from Campal to the Goa University campus.

RESTAURANTS HIT BY LPG DISRUPTIONS
AND a few stray thoughts on when the GULF war has affected the hospitality sector in India and in Goa. Indeed, consequent to the disruption of LPG and CNG due to the ongoing Gulf war there is a severe shortage of gas for cooking and commercial use. Over 60 percent of India’s requirement of cooking gas comes from the Gulf namely? Audia Arbia and Qatar. Already the prices for domestic LPG have been hiked by Rs60 and that of commercial LPG by Rs200. The situation has been worsened by the acute shortage of supply of gas to the refining companies. Indian Oil Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum have an exclusive franchise on LPG cylinders. We do not know whether government is not compelling Reliance which has the largest refinery in Jamnagar to switch to production of cooking gas. In Bengaluru restaurants have been closed for ten days starting from March 10. Restaurants particularly the local Goan restaurants, including Udipi restaurants, are also feeling the heat or rather the lack of it with many of them have tried to manage with induction heaters and rice cookers. But these are not suitable for bulk cooking which requires high-pressure multiple-point gas cylinders of industrial type. The ones who are profiting at the expense of the restaurants are Swiggy and Zomato who operate from cloud kitchens; the cloud kitchens do not operate in the clouds but have kitchens without restaurants attached. You will be advised to order your cooking gas cylinders early as the delivery time has been extended to 21 to 25 days for new cylinders.

LESSONS FROM DUBAI MELTDOWN
AND a few stray thoughts on when Dubai was considered the safest city or country in the world. It was the happy hunting grounds of the bold and the beautiful and the rich and the powerful from all over the world. All the Khans and all the cricketers have apartments or villas in Dubai. This includes Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, also Virat and Anushka Kohli.
Dubai interestingly has no oil. It has been promoted by the Sheikh family into a commercial and financial hub. Artificial islands have been created. The import duty is very low. Dubai is a free port offering ultra luxurious lifestyles. However, locals may not drink, smoke or gamble, but there are no such restrictions for honored guests, particularly those who have money to invest and spend in Dubai. The towering Burj Khalifa building is a symbol of Dubai’s prosperity.
I recall visiting the gold souks in Dubai in the 80s on a sponsored visit by Air India to commemorate the first direct flight from Goa. Even then Dubai was a model city with expressways, huge buildings, fancy restaurants. The deserts were tourism attractions with a foreign couple taking a group of us Goan editors for a safari in the desert. I remember they grilled delicious kebabs and baked potatoes for vegetarians like me. I asked the price of a gold crown and was told it would cost about Rs50 lakh at the then prevailing gold prices.
However now overnight following the drone and missile attacks of the Iranian revolutionary guards, Dubai has become a deserted city. All the rockstars including Cristiano Ronaldo have left the Gulf region. Apparently, the Irani strikes are targeted at US air bases and the arbitrary strikes are continuing.
Iran knows that the US wants control of the vast oil reserves in the Gulf and this is the main motive fuelling the war. So Iran is striking not at the transportation of oil through the Strait of Homruz but also the oil wells and refining installations in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Doha, Qatar and Bahrain. Contrary to Donald Trump’s boast and expectations Iran is not surrendering like Venezuela.
This should serve as a wake-up call to all those who are creating real estate and investing in flats in Goa. It does not require a war. If the high court strikes down section 39A of the TCP act and straightens out the building regulations amendments, which permit additional floors to already existing buildings, investors will lose their shirt. All the huge amounts of money spent will go down the drain. It may be recalled that the Delhi administration ordered the demolition of ten additional floors of a skyscraper in Gurgaon. This may happen in Goa too for the 700 odd buildings so far given FAR of 300 percent, which means they can go up to 15 stories even in the villages.

CM APOLOGISES
AND a last stray thought for yet another Saturday. It may be recalled that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant lost his cool on the opening day of the assembly section upon seeing the Mirabag protestors in the assembly gallery. He yelled “Arrest them!” Called them terrorists although he later said he didn’t call them terrorists. Then later after thinking it over maybe the CM on March 10, 2026 apologized for losing his temper. He admitted that the words had tumbled out of his mouth automatically and claimed that normally he had ice on his head and sugar in his mouth or something like that. Vijay Sardessai too in turn apologized for issuing passes to the gallery protesters, it seems protests must be outside and not inside assembly premises. Only MLAs and ministers may yell at each other in the august premises of the Goa legislative assembly.

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