NT Staff Reporter
Panaji Jan 5: The Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Parrikar today revealed that the government was on the verge of busting of a racket involving illegal passport stamps belonging to a certain section of Goans migrating to Kuwait for employment.
Participating in an interactive session with non-resident Indians and non-resident Goans on the last day of the second Gomant Vishwa Sammelan held at Kala Academy complex, Mr Parrikar said the available evidence pointed at the involvement of certain �influential people� � not from political field � in this fraudulent business.
The Goans, who were employed in Kuwait as maids, servants and so on, and who were totally at the mercy of their employers, had to obtain an �emigration clearance not required� stamp for their passports and the said racketeers, taking advantage of their predicament, provided them with illegal stamps, he said.
Talking about the problems faced by NRGs, Mr Parrikar stated that solving their problems would need a constant interaction by these NRGs and the government.
�The NRIs and NRGs can maintain a regular contact with the NRI Goa Facilitation Centre, and even an e-mail or short messages to me will help in solving their problems,� he observed.
He assured the NRIs and NRGs that the government was consulting experts to work out a legal mechanism for helping those NRGs who had been swindled by local finance companies.
Mr Parrikar informed that he had already cleared the file for issuing the work order for floating tenders to remove the River Princess vessel grounded off the Candolim coast.
�I am also trying to control the loud music played by hotels located along the coastal belt, possibly by demarcating loud music zones,� he informed.
Replying to a question, the Chief Minister maintained that the cities as well as the villages in Goa would have to dispose of their garbage and debris, in the area within their jurisdiction. Some panchayats like those at Calangute, Candolim and Colva had an impressive income and possessed enough wherewithal to dispose of garbage on their own, but others were not doing so, he observed, adding that only financially poor panchayats needed to be provided with financial backing.
He spoke about a scheme to provide financial aid to panchayats � around 98 per cent of the capital cost � for garbage disposal and pointed out that the same would find a place in the revised budget.
Answering to another question, Mr Parrikar said that there were certain pockets in the state where tourists were fleeced by taxi drivers. However, he claimed that it was not happening everywhere in Goa.
�Fleecing of the tourists by taxi drivers can continue even after fitting of meters to the taxis,� he noted, adding that meters did not ensure honesty in tourist drivers.
Replying to yet another question as to whether the state would participate in the United Nations �water decade� project, the Chief Minister said that irrespective of the UN project, the government would first increase the ground storage capacity of the water and then get it to the people. He also informed that the ground water in the coastal belt was polluted.
On deterioration of nursing services in the state, Mr Parrikar said the improvement in the same would only come through education and a sense of belonging. �We need to change the mindset of nurses and it is an Herculean task considering that negative things are highlighted in the society, especially by the media,� he stated.
On the controversial VCD of the documentary film on Goa�s liberation movement entitled Goa Freedom Struggle, he observed that the media gave unnecessary importance to the VCD in question and maintained that this was being used by the opposition to generate vote banks.
Mr Parrikar said that he had to work within the framework of financial, administrative and political limitations, including absence of a clear majority for his party.
A few other issues, such as failure in de-linking the Goa Engineering College from Bombay University which resulted in absence of any recognition for the graduates of the college by Kuwait, and making it mandatory for NRIs leaving Goa to hand over photocopies of their passports to the immigration authorities at the airport, were discussed on the occasion.
The session was moderated by Mr George Menezes, Mr Dinar Bhatkar and the noted advocate and MP (Rajya Sabha), Mr Adhik Shirodkar. The chief secretary, Mr Dev Singh Negi was also present on the occasion.
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