By Animesh Nerurkar

PATTO PLAZA, once touted as the ‘Nariman Point of Goa’ is in ruins. The area is more an ongoing plan to construct a slum near Panaji, camouflaged by constructing tall buildings around it. The Patto Plaza area is home to not one, but two slums. The second one is hidden in the Mangrove forest, behind the sewage treatment plant, invisible to all, unless one walks through the sewage plant and looks beyond.

TWO WEEKS after the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajokull caused the cancellation of more flights than the 9/11 attacks did, flights finally began operating! Lakhs of people were seriously affected and TV channels (other than Indian channels who concentrate on Lalit Modi and Sania Mirza) highlighted the plight of the stranded passengers and the near bankruptcy of airlines and allied service providers.

HE GOA Scheme for Financial Assistance for films, which was only just re-launched on April 28, 2010, is already under controversy due to the lack of co-ordination between the Directorate of Information and the Entertainment Society of Goa. Many did not attend the function as the organisers ‘forgot’ to invite some of the members, including those in the scheme drafting committee. Even after the long wait and revision of the scheme, filmmakers don’t seem too happy. While speaking to the filmmakers on the occasion, they told GO that the scheme appears to be drafted keeping in mind only a handful of filmmakers, who are already on the ‘favourite list’ of officials in the Entertainment Society of Goa.

AFTER THE inflating rates of essential commodities, the rising temperatures are taking its toll on people. Recent reports from the Meteorology Department about nights also becoming warm have quashed dreams of a peaceful cool night of sleep after a day spent in the scorching heat. This has led to an increasing demand for power in order to meet the increasing use of air conditioners and coolers, together with fans. Otherwise hygiene conscious people are now queuing up at juice stalls along highways or at market areas alongside garbage dumps to quench their thirst.

GOA’S GREATEST attraction is its beaches. But the beaches of Goa are ‘literally stinking’, as dramatised by the inspection reports submitted by the Goa State Pollution Control Board to the Goa Bench of the High Court. While the coastal panchayats, which were inspected by the Goa State Pollution Control Board, have huge amounts of money for tourism, they seem to be unconcerned about waste management.

A SMALL peaceful village, people engaged in the traditional methods of cashew juice extraction, toddy-tapping and farming. A factory project causes serious damage to the fields and people find it difficult to fight against the mighty political lobby that backed the monster factory project. While the villagers decide to appear unperturbed, a politician walks into the village asking the villagers to sell their land to him and evacuate the property. Several attempts were made in vain. Frustrated, he leaves

By Pradnya Gaonkar

THE RECENTLY concluded budget session of the Goa Legislative Assembly witnessed a uproar against mining activity in the state. Soon after the nexus between the police and drug peddlers was revealed, it has now been alleged that the police have links with the mining lobby. In reply to a question posed by Leader of the Opposition…

ON FEBRUARY 9, 2010 Ramchandra Bali’s wife went to fetch water from the well in the morning and was surprised at the rising water level. Normally, the well water reaches a maximum of one to two metres during the dry months of summer. But this summer it was above five meters. The sudden rise in the water level attracted the attention of the rest of the neighbourhood as well. The issue was highlighted by the media which, in turn, gave rise to panic in the neighbourhood.

THE ARRESTS of alleged drug peddlers Dudu and Atala has brought the narcotics trade in Goa to the forefront. The Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC) seems to be on overdrive and those directly or indirectly associated with the illegal trade of drugs for a long time are now being apprehended. The recent arrest of the watchman of St Xavier’s College in Mapusa, Bahadur Singh, infamous for his alleged drug deals within the campus and outside, came as a shock for many Xavierites as well as parents.

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.