COMMUNIDADES, the Portuguese version of Gaunkari, are ancient Indian socio-agro-economic institutions established by the original inhabitants thousands of years before the Portuguese rule. Though the origin of the communidades is unclear, available evidence indicates that these bodies existed even during the 13th and 14th centuries. The first settlers in Goa — the Gaonkars, who are believed to have arrived here during medieval times — cleared the land and settled down, establishing self-sufficient local bodies to manage village-level administration. The land was owned by the community as a whole, though there was private property. A communidade consists of definite boundaries of land from village to village with its topographic detail, its management and social, religious and cultural interaction.

BY PRADNYA GAONKAR
THE DEATH of 36-year-old Ravi alias Rohidas Shetgaonkar of Morjim came as a shock to locals but the incident brought to the fore the cold war going on between locals and Russian tourists in the region. On February 11, 2010, Ravi gave his car for repairs after he’d met with an accident. He went to sit with his other taxi driver friends at Vithaldas wado, Morjim beach next to the Hakuna Matata pub and restaurant.

THE ‘SAVE Our Tigers’ campaign seems to be gaining popularity through social networking groups like Facebook, Orkut, etc. The critical figure of 1411 tigers left in India appears to be touching an emotional chord. This figure, unnervingly, is according out a census carried out ten years ago. Environmentalists are unsure of the current figure. While green peaceniks are braving the authorities and poachers to fight the system, the government

BY PRADNYA GAONKAR

OFFICES HAVE just closed for the day and traffic is at its peak. Everyone is eager to rush home. At the Panaji end of the Mandovi Bridge, two-wheelers squeeze in between four wheelers in the serpentine queue, desperately trying to cross the bridge. Suddenly, a loud screech followed by a bang halts traffic. A motorcycle has crashed into the rear of a car which halted abruptly after its driver stopped to buy fish from a roadside hawker.

GO CORRESPONDENT
While the aam aadmi’s electricity supply is cut off if negligible bills are not paid on time, industrial units continue to get power even though they have yet to pay bills running into crores of rupees.
WHILE POWER Minister Aleixo Sequeira speaks of introducing spot billing, it remains to be seen how many that are […]

By Pradnya Gaonkar
NON-government institutions offering higher education degree courses have come under the scanner of the Directorate of Higher Education, Goa. The severe jolt was felt after the Directorate of Education cracked the whip against two institutions in the state for not fulfilling the required criteria to start a higher education institute in the state. The two institutions, IIAS Miramar and Pragati Women’s College of Education, have been issued show cause notices and ordered to submit a reply to the Directorate of Higher Education for not fulfilling the required norms.

INDIA’S POLICY towards tourists has changed since the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. Government investigations have revealed loops in the nation’s security arrangements. As a part of the strict vigil on the entry of anti-social elements in the country, the Government of India has cracked down on foreign tourists visiting the country. The security department has imposed strict rules on tourists who wish to come down on long term tourist visas and those visiting neighbouring countries like Nepal for transit visas. This has been done in the wake of the arrest of David Headley and Tahawwur Rana, who were indicted for their alleged involvement in the Mumbai terrorist attack.

BY PRADNYA GAONKAR

CCORDING TO studies conducted at the national level, one in 22 women in the country suffer from breast cancer, which implies that a breast cancer patient is detected every six minutes. According to an Indian Council of Medical Research study, Goa tops the list of states where women are susceptible to breast cancer. As per a study conducted by the Goa Institute of Management, the rate of incidence of breast cancer is 35 per 1,00,000 population, which is more than four times the national average of eight per 1,00,000.

BY PRADNYA GAONKAR

AFTER MORJIM, the axe fell on eight Coastal Regulation Zone-violating structures in Calangute and three in Benaulim on January 7, 2010. The agitated local panchayat bodies and municipalities the High Court has censured have slowly initiated action against the violators. But it appears that the action is an eyewash as the original structure still remain untouched and sections of the structures have been brought down. It is feared that the demolition is just to pretend that the local governing bodies are alert.

THE ACCEPTANCE by the central government of the demand for a separate Telangana state has plunged not only Andhra Pradesh, but the whole country into a crisis. Fears and apprehensions have been raised that by conceding the demand for a separate Telangana, following the indefinite hunger strike by Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K Chandrasekhara Rao, the intensity of the demand for separate states or sections of other larger states will gain further momentum. Already, a leader of the separate Gorkhaland has launched an indefinite hunger strike. There have been long pending demands for a separate Vidharba in Maharashtra and Bundelkhand in Uttar Pradesh.