Goan Observer

THIS IS WHAT DESERVES URGENT ATTENTION! THE news that hundreds of engineering seats in Goa remain vacant is not just about colleges — it is about the future of our next generation and, consequently, the future of our State. When quality education, industries, research opportunities and meaningful careers are limited, our young people are compelled to leave Goa in search of better opportunities. Sadly, many are never able to return.

Goans have won many battles to save Green Goa and to protect the secular identity of Goa. Starting with the Opinion Poll and the battle to make Konkani the official language, I have been witness to the battle to scrap the highly polluting Nylon 66 factory, the GBA agitation to scrap RP 2011 and the ongoing agitation against section 39A of the TCP Act. Politicians only listen to people just before the election. It is time for us to unite and save Goa.

THE debate on polymer, or plastic, banknotes is not new to India. Yet, with the Reserve Bank of India once again examining the possibility, an old question has acquired fresh relevance in the larger discourse on currency management. The issue is not merely whether banknotes should be made of paper or plastic.

Goa’s most elegant cake, “cake without rival” GOA is such a sweet state (as if the rest of our Indian states are not, we are a terribly sweet, meaning oversweet to self-destruction country) – but in Goa it’s like a cake shop/patisserie or Indian sweetmeats/mithai place is opening every now and again. One is constantly stressed out trying to decide between a glorious baked confection sweet something or a mithai shop sweet something.

CRYPTOCURRENCY is a broad term for digital or virtual money that uses cryptography (advanced encryption) to secure transactions. Unlike traditional currencies such as the Indian rupee, cryptocurrencies are typically decentralized, meaning they are not controlled by governments or central banks. They operate on a technology called blockchain, which records all transactions on a public ledger shared across a network of computers.

GOA’S latest controversy is not only about land, planning or paperwork. It is about trust, and the latest government retreat on the proposed urbanisation of 56 villages has once again exposed how fragile that trust has become. After weeks of mounting anger from villagers, panchayats, opposition parties, and civil society groups, the government withdrew its May 13 circular that had sought views on notifying 56 villages as urban areas.

AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when I want to thank again the people who helped me most during my journey of over 43 years in Goa, beginning 1983, till today. AND a few stray thoughts on the people who helped me most during my journey of over 43 years in Goa from 1983 to till now. I should perhaps start with Devika Sequeira, who was my first chief reporter when I started the English version of the century old OHeraldo.

As we celebrate Doctors’ Day on the July 1, I would like to share the story of one of the commonest medicines found in almost every Indian household —a medicine that looks harmless, tastes sweet, and is often given without a second thought. The humble cough syrup. For decades, it has occupied a permanent place in our medicine cabinets. At the first sign of a cough, many of us instinctively reach for that familiar bottle of cough syrup.

The country is currently shocked by the alleged huge heist of wealth, or ‘chanda chori’ (theft of donations), in Ayodhya’s Ram Temple. The “theft” of funds from the temple came as a big blow to the nation, particularly to those devotees who had donated small amounts to huge funds for their deity, Lord Ram. This Ayodhya Ram Temple construction came as a part of the follow-up of the Babri Mosque’s demolition in 1992, which was destroyed as part of the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation.

CONGRESS SPLITS THE Congress party in Goa appears to have split with a break-away group led by Amit Patkar, the former president of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee registering a new party called the Goa Congress Party. It may be recalled that the Indian National Congress led by the Nehru Gandhi family recently appointed Girish Chodankar to be head of the Goa unit.