Dear Saligaokaram, This superbly written vignette of the insanity that the Goa govt. and Tourism Dept. unleashed on us from the 27-29 Dec. is sent in by Louis Vaz from Donvaddo, also home to the Tourism Minister.
Louis, we need you to contribute more to SaligaoNet and the village at all levels. You and your hardworking, down-to-earth family of Melissa, Joshua, Keegan and Norah have always struck us as so level headed and practical. Thanks for this little video-in-prose that you have captured so well! Warm regards and solidarity. M&M. PS: Louis, our MLA and Tourism Minister...and your neighbour in Donvaddo, Dilip Parulekar is on record in today's Herald that, "In a tourist like Goa, such events are always welcome..." He said that the organisers paid the Tourism dept. Rs. 1 crore. Rs. 12 lakhs went to the Excise dept. and Rs. 1 lakh to the Candolim Panchayat... ...leaving behind the sheer carnage of both coastal environment and human beings, especially little children and senior citizens (see page 21<http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/epapermain.aspx>of today's Herald's e-paper)...all for more and more moolah, but at what cost? Both Ministers, Tourism and Chief are on this list, as are the 3 MPs Shantaram Naik, Shripad Naik and Francisco Sardinha. Is this the life your government has planned for local Goans? Is this your vision for Goa and the planet? - M&M. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Louis Vaz <[email protected]> Date: 2 January 2013 10:00 Subject: Re: Fwd: Road Safety is the focus of GOACAN with Tourism & Excise Depts. To: muriel&mario <[email protected]> * * *This message needs to sink into our minister's heads first as it is ultimately they who push the permissions for the usual reason!* * * * We had never been in this area at this time before, so my family & I agreed to drop some visiting overseas Goan friends to their place opposite Candolim govt. health centre. We were unwittingly forced to witness first hand the on-road part of the orgy called "Sunburn". The traffic was such a nightmare that we couldn't even turn back.* * * *The experience left me wondering just how low Goan decision makers are willing to stoop. This area is normally quite crowded during the tourist season and the concerned ministers/authorities should personally witness the utter chaos created by their decision before permitting such festivals in unfavourable areas. * * * *We saw a well pickled youth tottering to the parking lot with a completely senseless girl literally slung over his shoulder like a sack of grain unaware that the bare minimum clothes she was wearing weren't covering her at all. A trio of a boy hanging on the shoulders between two girls all three looking no more than 15 years and in their stupor, barely able to walk to their parked bike, then, all three on a bike drive off ushered by a traffic cop! Inspite of heavy police presence, almost every two wheeler had three persons on it. A constable tried stopping a bike wrongly entering the one way section at the Candolim tinto by hanging on to the back handle & was dragged by the rider determined to go ahead. I could go on & on & on as we saw many more scenes like these in the THREE HOURS it took us to maneuver through the gridlock from the Candolim health center to Candolim Church which normally takes about three minutes. Thankfully my children soon fell asleep & weren't tortured with the whole show. We finally escaped via Saipem and connecting road through Pilerne. * * The traffic & civil police were everywhere helped by dozens of private security & traffic wardens but all almost ornamental considering the out-of-control condition of the revelers swarming the road on foot and on two wheelers - abusing, fighting, dancing, puking & pottering about in all directions. * * * *The entry ticket per head was Rs.15 thousand for single entry & Rs. 35 thousand for all three days. A liter of local bottled water - Rs.200/-. A newspaper said 1.5 lakh people attended. Do the math. I wonder which 'common local Goan' will benefit from this mind boggling volume of income after putting up with the inconvenience of almost a house arrest situation for three days. (ends) * ------------------------------ *From:* muriel&mario <[email protected]> *To:* saligao-net <[email protected]> *Sent:* Tuesday, 1 January 2013 5:48 PM *Subject:* Fwd: Road Safety is the focus of GOACAN with Tourism & Excise Depts. *How much are the illegal booze vendors in Saligao, responsible for the 'drive-after-drink' accidents in the village and will our Panchayat, in collaboration with the Excise Dept. stop them? Drunken driving jeopardises road safety in Saligao. * ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: *goacan goa* <[email protected]> Date: 1 January 2013 15:37 Subject: [goacan] Road Safety is the focus of GOACAN with Tourism & Excise Depts. To: [email protected] ------------------------------------------------- Do GOACAN a favour, circulate this email to your family members, relatives, neighbours and friends. Help other CONSUMERS to be better informed. -------------------------****------------------------- The focus of the Road Safety & Traffic Management campaign by GOACAN this year will be to get the involvement of the Department of Tourism and the Excise Department on the theme for 2013. In a letter to the Director of Tourism, GOACAN has called for the participation of the Tourism Dept. in the Road Safety Campaign as the Don't Drink and Drive message needs to reach all the domestic & foreign tourists visiting Goa so as to reduce the number of fatal accidents involving them. In a letter to the Excise Commissioner, GOACAN has called for the support of the Dept. to reach the Road Safety theme to all tavern’s, Bars, beach shacks, retail & wholesale liquor outlets and outlets at tourism & entertainment related events. GOACAN is of the opinion that if there is effective support from the Tourism & Excise Depts. the Road Safety message will reach thousands of users of alcohol and will definitely provide the impetus for the campaign. Copies of the letters have been sent to the Chief Minister, Transport Minister, Chief Secretary, Transport Secretary, Tourism Secretary, Director General of Police, Suptd. of Police, Traffic Cell, Directors of Transport, Consumer Affairs, President Travel & Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), Chairman GTDC and Manager, Govt. of India Tourism Office. GOACAN will also continue its ongoing efforts to set up Road Safety & Traffic Management Committees at the Village Panchayat and Municipal Council level and popularise the Traffic Warden Scheme as well. GOACAN will also continue to promote the formation of Road Safety Patrols (RSP) in the Higher Secondary Schools and Colleges during the week. With this National Road Safety Week GOACAN along with the Consumer Forums and Consumer Welfare Clubs will continue to participate in the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety launched in May 2011. ---------------------------------------------------------- GOA CIVIC AND CONSUMER ACTION NETWORK ---------------------------------------------------------- promoting civic and consumer rights in Goa ---------------------------------------------------------- GOACAN Post Box 187 Margao, Goa 403 601 GOACAN Post Box 78 Mapusa, Goa 403 507 mail: [email protected] <http://in-mg61.mail.yahoo.com/neo/> Visit: http://goacan.blogspot.com <http://in-mg61.mail.yahoo.com/neo/> ---------------------------------------------------------- -- *Imagine Goa celebrating with the Christmas SPIRIT only half as much as it pushes its LIQUOR *......*hic* ................................................................ there *is* anOTHERgoa at <http://www.anothergoa.blogspot.in> & <http://www.youtube.com/anothergoa> ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' muriel & mario, c/o FULKAR, 6/22, sonarbhatt, saligao. bardez. goa. 403511. tel: 0832-2278276 / 2409999 <anothergoa AT gmail.com> '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' -- Saligao-Net is at http://groups.google.com/group/saligao-net To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe email [email protected]
