Tribulations of the Year

In the land (Goa) of subsidies, freebies, and hand outs, while all you and I get is grief, and that time when Man and Woman of the Year are voted; my humble vote goes to you. Exactly so, it’s for all that grief you get and bear it stoically, except for the occasional rage you show on the road and in some government offices. I say some government offices because here your anger only gets you more grief. Reading about nurses getting a two-year paid holiday which they abuse without remorse, added to my pain. Seventy-four nurses of the Goa Medical College are on long leave that can be extended for two years as childcare leave, study leave and to work in the Gulf! Christopher Fonseca threatening to sabotage the alleged government plan to privatise Goa’s ferry services made the migraine worse. For god sakes, Fonseca ask the islanders of Chorao and Divar and elsewhere, whether they would like a sloppy government ferry service or one that is privately run. These people deserve to be the real candidates for Man and Woman of the Year. Find out how much the ferry crew have pocketed for decades by not issuing tickets to ferry commuters, money that could have been invested in building new ferries. For Pete's sake the government built the last ferry in 1999 and it takes damn years for the River Navigation Department to repair one lousy ferry, thanks again to your union’s inspiration on the workers. Here’s a suggestion, if you need work in 2010, fight for better wages for the thousands employed as contract workers in industrial estates and including government. These, government (the PWD especially) contract workers, in fact are members of your union.

Put the genie back in the bottle

Want to own a piece of Goa? Check. Want to buy into Aldeia de Goa? Check. That was almost the order of things for everyone who wanted to invest in this paradise. The spin went like this: “Situated on a hill, Aldeia de Goa is a project that sprawls over 140 acres of lush ... Aldeia de Goa is located in Dona Paula, home to the elite of Goa.” To further add to its brand equity, the architect for the project is none other than the well known Hafeez Contractor.

So, why on one day in this week alone there were three advertisements wanting to sell plots in this to-die-for piece of real estate in Goa? Simultaneously, the promoters of Aldeia have unleashed a veritable advertising blitz . In fact, this – half page/ front page ads, hoardings on highways has been the project’s hallmark right from the beginning. And yet people are selling. Strange. Is it because they are speculators so they bought into and are getting out so they can laugh all the way to the bank? Or is it because people are changing their minds after the controversy over the regional plan because expat forums (like BritishExpats.com) all debate about slowdown in projects because of the plan? And this has evidently scared off investors. Whatever the reason, one cannot help feeling that some of the sheen is wearing out on this project.

A free for all

What is definitely a relief is that unlike the last few years, there was no manufactured (mostly by electronic channels) phobia about a terror threat to Goa at New Year. So, domestic tourists – cars with registration numbers from Delhi to Kerala, MP to Karnataka, Rajasthan to Andhra Pradesh – jammed this state to take part in the revelry. Panaji’s streets were flooded with tourists going on the wrong side of the road, stopping in the middle of the road to ask for directions, and certainly, the younger lot on bikes (I even spotted an MP registered bike) have not heard of the warning “speed thrills but kills.” Women cops, who looked barely out of their teens policed the street, but who was listening to them anyway? They seem part of an unemployment racket rather than out to keep order on the streets.

Goans had it up to here encountering the mayhem unleashed by the unruly tourists. Our politicians tell us that tourism earns the state and its people top dollars because it is a much sought after destination. But my fish vendor, Philip, seems untouched by the so called ripple effect of tourism. He, shockingly, does not own a home (in fact lives in a chawl) and gets up early to get fish in Margao to bring it all the way to Divar. Why would he do it if tourism brought him revenue? The only tourism earners are hotels, mostly owned by outsiders who take their money outside and don’t put it in the Goan economy. For that matter check out the 5-Star at Mira Mar and see for yourself how many Goans it employs.


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