------------------------------------------------------------------------ TRI Continental Film Festival - Dona Paula, Goa, Sep 28 - Oct 2, 2007
http://www.moviesgoa.org/tricontinental/tricon.htm For public viewing. Registration at The International Centre Goa. (Ph: +91-832-2452805 to 10) Online Media Partner: http://www.GOANET.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Margao, Sept 27 Warning that coastal areas from Salcete taluka would be submerged under water after 20 years from now, Dr Nandkumar Kamat, a scientist and renowned social worker, said that unless Goans wake up and protect their land they will be strangers in their own land. He was speaking at a largely attended meeting which was organised by Cansaulim, Velcao, and Arrosim Peoples Front near St Thomas Church, Cansaulim this evening. Earlier, the rally of the villagers which started at 3 p.m. passed through the village and culminated into a huge public meeting. The rally, on World Tourism Day, was organised to protest against tourism promoted without attempting to protect the land and its people, the organisers disclosed to The Navhind Times. Young and old, including students carried with them placards and banners with slogans such as Do not privatise beaches, We want heritage tourism, Our coasts are not for sale, Dont exploit children etc. Reminding the Cansaulim villagers of the great Goan leader Dr Tristao Braganza Cunha, who was born in Cansaulim village and who worked with stalwarts like Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru and Pandit Jawaharla Nehru, about his struggle for freedom and protecting the Goan identity, Dr Kamat said that Goa must be protected at any cost for the future generation. Let the future generation be safe from deadly diseases like HIV/ AIDS, which have made their presence felt in Goa and were threatening the lives of many Goans, he noted. The Goan Communidades and their leaders worked hard to carve out villages with meticulous planning, which he said were now being destroyed in the name of tourism and gave a call to Goans to wake up or else they would be vanquished. He warned that time was running out for coastal villages and that the Goans should now rally together to protect this state once known as the Golden Goa. Dr Kamat called upon all the sarpanchas of the villages of the coastal talukas to be vigilant and not to allow anyone to sell their soul for the sake of few pieces of silver. Fr Valeriano Vaz speaking on the occasion reminded the Goans that the church had played a significant role to protect the lives of traditional fishermen and toddy tappers and that it is the duty of every Goan to see that Goa is protected from all kinds of ills that is happening in the name of tourism. Later, the villagers resolved to multiply the area groups, find out specific problems faced by the villagers and then push the same to the government to find solutions through peoples programme. Velsao sarpanch, Ms Aruna Rodrigues, Cansaulim sarpanch, Ms Blanche B Pereira, convenor, Mr Savio Sequeira, Mr Teotonio from Majorda were among others who spoke on the occasion. Fr Maverick Fernandes of Council for Social Justice and Peace was also present on the occasion. http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=09286 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Catch up on fall's hot new shows on Yahoo! TV. Watch previews, get listings, and more! http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/3658