Panaji, November 26, 2019 ..The Women Facilitation Wing (Help Desk) held its first ‘Meet the Council’  meeting at Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Conference hall . The function was inaugurated by Smt. Sulakshana Pramod Sawant. While speaking on the occasion  Smt. Sawant encouraged women to follow their passion and think out of the box and with innovative ideas in business. She also said it’s very important for women to be-self reliant and that the Government has a number of finance schemes for entrepreneurs and women must take advantage of the same.

 The Chairperson of (GCCI) Women’s Wing, Ms. Pallavi Salgaoncar said that such ‘Meet the Council’ meetings will be held at regular intervals with different business groups in which women entrepreneurs and Self-Help groups can come and interact with the Council.

 EDC and DITC representatives Ms. Pujan Makwana and Ms. Arti Desai  spoke about the various schemes available for women entrepreneurs. Ms. Vrushali Parsekar compared the function.

 The Women’s Facilitation Council (Help Desk) is  initiative of the women’s wing of GCCI. it has a core committee consisting of the chairperson, Ms. Pallavi Salgaoncar, Director Women and Child Development Ms.Deepali Naik CA/CS, Ms. Swatee Rane, Advocate Ms. Priyanka Kamat e Shetiya, and Ms. Inseyah Ali of FiiRE.

 Any woman entrepreneur or Self – Help group seeking any business assistance can write or email the Chamber and the help desk will give them timely advice. The Help desk is free.

Panaji: November 25, 2019 ….As dialogues are necessary for a character the same way costumes and makeup also play an important part in creating it. Makeup artist with his creativity brings the artists as a character infront of public and that is the reason why makeup artist is a creator. If the job of makeup is taken seriously and passionately by giving traditional touch with creative ideas; it can be a good income source said State Cultural Awardee, Shri. Sakharam Mayekar while speaking as the chief guest at the concluding function of “Makeup in Theatre” workshop organised by the Directorate of Art and Culture.

The five half days workshop was  organised from November 11 to 15, 2019 at Art Gallery, Sanskruti Bhavan Patto, Panaji. Present at the concluding function were Resource person Shri. Eknath Naik, Assistant Smt. Amita Naik and Deputy Director Art and Culture, Shri. Ashok Parab.

‘Artists should give same importance to makeup and costumes like he gives to dialogues”, Resource person Shri. Eknath Naik stated in his speech.  Participant Shri. Mark Fernandes and Smt. Manjiri Desai shared their experience at the workshop.

Deputy Director of Art and Culture, Shri Ashok Parab, earlier while welcoming the gathering  asked participants to use the knowledge gained at the workshop it to find new dimensions. Participation certificates where given to the participants.

Assistant Cultural Officer Kranti Chari proposed the vote of thanks while Shri. Pradip Naik anchored the function.

Panaji: November 24, 2019 … ..The Community Development Through Polytechnic (CDTP) Panaji conducts short term course for 3 to 6 months in technical and non-technical fields that generate employment for the community. The scheme is sponsored by Directorate General of Training and the courses are offered free of cost.

Presently an ‘Electrical Wiring Repairs and Maintenance of Equipment’ Course is planned for 3 months which will start by December 16, 2019 to March 15, 2020. Application forms are available in Community office of Government Polytechnic Panaji.

Those who are interested should come for interview on December 6, 2019 at 10.00 a.m in CDTP office. 8^th standard pass qualification is required.

Panaji: November 23, 2019 …. ..The second National Water Awards, 2019 for several categories has been announced.

Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation had instituted National Water Awards last year for various categories including, Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat, Best Municipal Corporation/other Municipal bodies, Best Schools, Best TV show, Best News paper etc in the field of water conservation and management.

All the applications may be sent either through Mygov platform at https://mygov.in or mail to Central Ground Water Board at their e-mail address: tsmsmicgwb@nic.in. General public may refer to website www.mowr.gov.in or www.cgwb.govin for further information.

Application forms are also available in Publicity Section, Department of Information and Publicity third floor, Udyog Bhavan, Panaji, Goa till November 30, 2019. The last date for submission of entries is November 30, 2019.

Panaji: November 22, 2019 … The feast of St. Francis Xavier at Old Goa will be held on December 3, 2019 and Novenas will be held from November 24, 2019 to December 2, 2019. As the Feast and Novenas attract a large number of devotees, traffic arrangements have been made, to avoid inconvenience. On the route from Panaji to Old Goa via Ribandar, there will be Special Buses to ferry passengers. The Special Buses from Panaji to Old Goa will proceed via Ribandar and on reaching Dempo Engineering at Old Goa, will take left turn to enter the Bhakia Property for parking at Bhakia Bus Stand.

The Two Wheelers and Four Wheelers, on reaching Dempo Engineering at Old Goa will take left turn to enter Bhakia property for parking.

Vehicles having VIP Car Pass will be allowed to come up to the entry road and will be parked in VIP Parking Lot.

The vehicles carrying the differently-abled will be allowed to come up to Old Goa Church Junction and park their vehicles in the open space opposite Sulabh Sauchalaya near Old Goa Panchayat. The vehicles parked in Bhakia property and in the open space opposite Sulabh Sauchalaya near Old Goa Panchayat on their return journey to Panaji, will take the same route via Ribandar.

 On route from Panaji to Old Goa via Kadamba By-Pass, Panaji to Ponda Route Buses will not be allowed to proceed via Ribandar. Instead, they will be diverted at KTC Circle to proceed via Kadamba By-Pass (NH-4A).

The Two Wheelers and Four Wheelers on reaching Kamat Gas Station junction will take left turn towards Santa Monica Nursery and on reaching at St. Augustine Tower junction will take further left turn and on reaching Habitat junction will take right turn and on reaching Dempo Engineering will take left turn to enter Bhakia property for parking.

All Heavy and Medium Vehicles will be diverted via Kadamba Bye-Pass NH-4A. The new road connecting Kadamba By-Pass to Santan Church will be One- Way from Kadamba By-Pass towards Santan. Similarly it will be “No Entry” for Medium and Heavy vehicles from both sides i.e. from Santan Church and from Kadamba By-Pass.

On Saturdays, Sundays and on the Feast Day, Heavy and Medium Goods Vehicles wanting to proceed via Old Goa will be diverted at Karaswada Junction on NH-17 and at Banastarim Junction on NH-4A to proceed via Amona Bridge.

The road from Pilar to Old Goa will be made One-Way for the movement of traffic. No vehicle from Old Goa will be allowed to return via Neura. All vehicles shall exit via NH-4A at Merces or light vehicles can exit via new road to Santan Church. Four Wheelers from South Goa will be allowed to come up to Ella Farm Gate and will park in the Ella Farm field, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Service open space. Two wheelers will be parked in the private property prior to Neura junction and in the parking lots behind the Bom Jesus Basilica.

Buses coming from South Goa via Neura road on reaching Ella Farm main gate will take left turn and come to Bus Stand at Kunkolkar School Ground and will exit on NH-4A for onward journey.

Two Wheelers and Four Wheelers coming from Ponda side on reaching near Pinto Garage will take left turn for parking at the ground behind Pinto Garage. For return journey, the two wheelers and four wheelers will take the same route to go towards Ponda. The normal traffic from Ponda wanting to go to Panaji on reaching near Dargah junction at Old Goa will take Kadamba By-Pass (NH-4A). Ponda to Panaji Route Buses will not be allowed to proceed via Old Goa Church complex. Instead, they will be diverted at Neura Junction to proceed via Kadamba By-Pass (NH-4A). Vehicles desiring to proceed towards Gaundalim are advised to proceed via Banastarim and avoid Old Goa.

Heavy vehicles coming from Ponda side will be diverted at Banastarim Junction via Amona Bridge to join NH-17 at Karaswada. The stretch of road between Old Goa Police Station to Church junction via MLA Shri Pandurang Madkaikar’s  House will be made One-Way. No vehicle from Church junction will be allowed to take right turn to reach Old Goa Police Station via MLA Shri Pandurang Madkaikar’s House.

The vehicles coming from Diwar to Old Goa will proceed via Viceroy’s Arch and will be parked in the courtyard of St. Cajeton Church. The vehicles coming from Diwar will proceed through Viceroy’s Arch and Arch of Conception to go towards Ponda and Panaji. Vehicles from Ponda side wanting to proceed to Diwar will take right turn a Neura Junction and proceed to Diwar Ferry via Old Goa Main Junction. The vehicles coming from Gaundalim side and desiring to proceed to Diwar will take right turn near Ramesh Naik’s house to proceed to Diwar jetty. The vehicles coming from Panaji via Ribandar to go to Diwar will take left turn at Old Goa Church junction, take route towards St. Catherine Chapel and thereafter take left turn on the new by-lane to go to Diwar jetty. The lane connecting Gaundalim road to Arch of Conception will be No Entry. The road from Old Goa Church junction towards Diwar Ferry via St. Catherine Chapel will be made One-Way. No Heavy and Medium vehicles will be allowed to cross Diwar ferry. All such vehicles will use Ribander ferry to enter and exit Diwar.

 Two Wheelers and Four Wheelers coming from Panaji side via Ribandar, will be parked at Bhakia Property. Vehicles coming from Panaji side via new Kadamba By-Pass (NH-4A), will be diverted near Kamat Gas Station to proceed for parking at Bhakia Property taking left near St. Augustine Tower junction. Two Wheelers and Four Wheelers coming from South Goa side will be parked at Ela Farm, at Animal Husbandry Premises and at Open space on either side of highway near Neura Junction.

Two wheelers will also be parked in private property prior to Neura junction. Two Wheelers and Four Wheelers coming from Ponda side, will be parked at open ground near Pinto Garage. Two Wheelers will also be parked at two open Plots belonging to Mr. Colaco and Mr. Sequeira opposite  MLA Shri Pandurang Madkaikar’s Residence.

Two Wheelers and Four Wheelers coming from Diwar Ferry will be parked in the courtyard of St. Cajetan Church. Vehicles having Passes issued by Traffic Police will be parked in the Open space near Old Goa Main Junction and near Sulabh Souchalaya and in the Courtyard of V.P. Old Goa. Priest vehicles will be parked in the compound behind Basilica of Bom Jesus. Vehicles of Church Volunteers will be parked in the asphalted parking area behind Sulab Souchalaya.

The following are designed Bus Stands, Panaji-Old Goa buses via Ribandar road, at Bhakia property and Panaji Old Goa buses via Kadamba Road, along new 4-lane road behind MLA Shri Pandurang Madkaikar’s house. South Goa-Old Goa buses at Kunkalkar School ground, Ponda-Old Goa buses, near Hubbard farm. Buses of Devotees/Tourists, behind MLA Shri Pandurang Madkaikar house on new alignment of Kadamba By-Pass (NH-4A).

All the motorists are requested to follow the traffic circulation plan and to cooperate with Traffic Police, to ensure smooth flow of traffic.

The stretch of road between Old Goa Church junction to Gandhi Circle will be closed for all types of vehicles except emergency vehicles like Police, Ambulance and Fire Brigade. The ring round road connecting Old Goa Church junction to St. Catherin Chapel to Arch of Conception to Petrol Pump to Old Goa Police Station to MLA Shri Pandurang Madkaikar’s house to Old Goa Church junction will be One-Way from Old Goa Church junction towards Diwar side and ‘No Entry’ from the village Panchayat Old Goa junction towards MLA Shri Pandurang Madkaikar’s house.

 All the motorists are requested to kindly follow the traffic circulation plan and to cooperate with Traffic Police, to ensure smooth flow of traffic.

Panaji: November 22, 2019 … Tribal people are aboriginal people of the country and this country basically belongs to them remarked Governor of Goa Shri Satya Pal Malik. Urging to keep aside any complexity for being born in community, he said one should take pride about the long history of the tribal community. After gaining freedom, great leaders like Babasaheb Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi and others fought for the constitutional rights for this community and Constitution has bestowed various powers to tribal community he added.

Governor was speaking after inaugurating one day 2^nd Adivasi Vidhyarthi Sammelan 2019 at Rajiv Gandhi Kala Mandir, Ponda organised by Directorate of Tribal Welfare in association with United Tribal Association Alliance (UTAA) recently.

After taking charge as the Governor of the State this was the first public function attended by Shri Malik which he said is like a pilgrimage tour.

Speaking further Shri Malik said, Indian constitution is the power and specialty of the country. Tribal people have various inbuilt qualities which need to get sparked. In the sports field, maximum sportspersons are from tribal community and are taking the nation to greater heights he said. He urged youths to set a high target in their life and work hard with determination to achieve the target. Country’s constitution and laws are with tribal community and no one can stop them from achieving their target. Genes in the tribal community are of movement, efforts and competition, Shri Malik remarked.

Tribal Welfare Minister, Shri Govind Gaude asserting that one needs to acquire knowledge said no one can buy knowledge from the market. One has to acquire or earn it through hard work and guidance. One who acquires knowledge cannot be defeated easily, he said.

Government is implementing various schemes and facilities for the tribal community students; he said and urged them to take benefit to achieve 100 % literacy in their community. Education is the right tool to gain the knowledge Gaude said. One should face and work to remove many obstacles on the way to success. Everyone should think that they will not just be the employee but the employer and should work hard for that, which is the aim of this sammelan, Shri Gaude said. Smart work is also equally important while doing hard work he said.

Asserting failure cannot be excuse of not being successful in life Shri Gaude said Self confidence, concentration, constant efforts, experience and accepting challenge will bring success in once life. He urged the youth to come out of the reservation psychology.

Commissioner, Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Shri Prakash Velip said, Adivasi Vidhyarthi Sammelan is a part of Prerna Din which is observed every year on May 25^th in the memory of the sacrifice given by two youths of the tribal community late Manguesh Gaonkar and Dilip Velip during the agitation of UTAA for the constitutional demands at Balli Quepem. One cannot get success in life without struggle Shri Velip remarked.

Ex MLA, Shri Vasudev Gaonkar; Working President, UTTA, Shri Namdev Fatarpekar; Managing Director, Goa State Scheduled Tribe Finance And Development Corporation Ltd., Shri Agnelo A.J. Fernandes; Deputy Director, Directorate of Education, South Zone, Dr Uday Gaonkar were present on the occasion.

Chairman, Goa State Scheduled Tribe Finance And Development Corporation Ltd., Shri Durgadas Gaude welcomed while Director, Directorate of Tribal Welfare, Smt Sandhya Kamat proposed vote of thanks.

After inaugural function Shri R K Chopra conducted Personality Development Session for students by addression on the topic Critical and Creative Thinking towards becoming powerful personality. Para badminton player Shri Umesh Vikram Kumar who holds world ranking 5 and national ranking 2 shared his journey to success by overcoming difficult situations in life.

Panaji: November 21, 2019 …Chief Minister, Dr. Pramod Sawant underscoring that cooperative is an universal concept said new faces has to be brought in for sustainable development of the sector. The main motto of the cooperative sector is to protect the interest of weaker section of the society, he added.

Chief Minister was speaking as a Chief Guest at the 66th Cooperative Week celebration programme at Ravindra Bhavan, Sankhali organized by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Bicholim Zone and Ravindra Bhavan, Sankhali, at Sankhali, recently.

Chief Minister expressing his happiness over the overall growth of the Cooperative sector in the State said, cooperative movement should not be restricted only to financial transactions and urged them to shoulder other social responsibilities too.

The Chief Minister appealed to the people to avail benefits of various schemes implemented through various government platforms.  Cooperative sector should implement positive business ideas for self sustained life, he remarked.

Well known personalities and prominent figures from cooperative sector were felicitated at the hands of Chief Minister.

Shri Pandurang Sawant welcomed the guest.

Shri Vithal Vernekar, Chairman, Goa State Co. Marketing and Supply Federation; Shri Ulhas Faldessai, Shri Vithu Gawas, Director, Goa Rajya Sahakari Sangh, Shri Pandurang Kuttikar, Smt. Swati Mainkar, Shri Srirang Jambhale and others graced the occasion.

Panaji :: November 20, 2019… The grand opening of the 50th Golden Jubilee edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI 2019) was held in the presence of Bollywood megastar Shri  Amitabh Bachchan who was the Chief Guest, renowned actor megastar Shri Rajinikanth, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Shri Prakash Javdekar, Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant,  Minister  of State for (Independent Charge) AYUSH and MOS Defence Shri Shripad Y. Naik and Minister of State for Environment Shri Babul Syupriyo,  Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Shri Amit Khare at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee stadium in Taleigao, Plateau, today.

IFFI is jointly organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals of the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and the Goa Government’s Entertainment Society of Goa

The grand inaugural ceremony of the 50th edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) this year was hosted by ace filmmaker Shri Karan Johar.

While speaking on the occasion, Dr. Pramod Sawant  said Goa is perfect destination to host IFFI and also an perfect destination of film shooting. Many Indian and foreign films shoot in Goa which play an important role in economic development as well as providing jobs. Our plan is to make Goa an important destination for film shooting. Our Government he said will be focussing on the factors such as film tourism, skill enhancement, shooting with current technology etc:-. We are looking forward for  upgradation of our infrastructure to give film makers better  film making experience in the state, the Chief Minister concluded

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shri Prakash Javdekar said that there are beautiful locations in our country for film shooting. The Indian as well as foreign film producers have to take 10-15 permissions. But now we have proposed to introduce single window system to take such permission which  will ease the work of the producers to a great extend in film shootings.

A postal stamp commemorating 50th edition of IFFI was also released on the occasion by Mr. Javadekar.

Chief Secretary, Shri Parimal Rai IAS, Vice Chairperson of Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), Shri Subhash Phaldessai, Director of the festival Shri Chaitanya Prasad, Shri Manoj Tiwari, MP,  were among those were present at the event.

Superstar Rajinikanth was bestowed with the Icon of Golden Jubilee award during the opening  ceremony of International Film Festival of India 2019. Speaking on the occasion Shri Rajinikant said that he was extremely happy to receive the award. He thanked the  Indian government for honouring him with this award. The megastar said that he dedicates this award to all his  producers, directors and technicians who worked in his  films.

This year, IFFI honoured  one of French cinema’s iconic actresses, Isabelle Huppert, with the  festival’s highest honour Lifetime Achievement Award at the opening ceremony. She has appeared in more than 120 films and is the most nominated actress for the Cesar Award, with 16 nominations.

Amitabh Bachchan was also  felicitated during the opening ceremony of IFFI 2019. Shri Bacchan said that he has  no words to express my gratitude to IFFI for honouring him for also having a retrospective of his films.

A special felicitation  recognised the contributions of Indian legends like Ramesh Sippy, N. Chandra and PC Sreeram at the inaugural event.

The 50th edition celebrates cinematic excellence from Russia, in the Country Focus section. Eight films will be showcased in this segment.

John Bailey, cinematographer and former President of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences heads the International Jury of the 50th International Film Festival of India. Part of the Jury at IFFI 2019 are French filmmaker Robin Campillo, also on the Cannes 2019 International Jury; Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yang, Scottish filmmaker- writer and cinematographer Lynne Ramsay, and eminent Bollywood filmmaker Ramesh Sippy. They were felicitated on the occasion. Musicians Shankar Mahadevan gave a riveting performance with the Godfather of Indian ‘Jazz Louis Banks. regaled their fusion performance.

The opening was followed by the premiere of the movie ‘TheAspern Papers’ directed by Julien Landais. The director and cast of the film were felicitated at the inaugural.

Earlier, Secretary, Information and Broadcasting Shri Amit Khare, IAS, welcomed the gathering while  Festival Director Shri Chaitaanya Prasad proposed a vote of thanks.

Panaji :: November 20^th, 2019 .. Economic Development Corporation (EDC) organized Self Employment Awareness and Assistance Camp at Ravindra Bhavan, Curchorem today. The Chief Guest for the function was Dy. Chief Minister, Shri Chandrakant (Babu) Kavlekar; Minister for Power, Shri Nilesh Cabral, Minister for Public Works, Shri Deepak Prabhu Pauskar and Commissioner for NRI affairs Shri Narendra Sawaikar were also present on the occasion.

Chairman Shri Sadanand Shet Tanavade, Vice Chairman Shri Sanjay Satardekar; Director, Shri Ralph De Souza, Managing Director, Shri Kiran Ballikar, Jt. MD Shri Carlos D’souza  and trainer Shri Pravin Sabnis  all from EDC were also present on the dais including Councilors, panch and ZP members from Curchorem constituency.

The programme was mainly to provide information and assistance on two schemes i.e. Goa Tribal Employment Generation Programme (GTEGP) Scheme and Chief Minister Rojgar Yogna (CMRY) Scheme.

Speaking on the occasion Dy. CM said that the success of any Government scheme is achieved only when it reaches to the masses and the benefits are availed by the maximum people. These types of awareness programme are very important mainly in rural areas, so as to make the people aware of the schemes and can be explained for fruitful results. He appreciated the Chairman of EDC for conducting such awareness camps to reach out to the youths to derive benefits for setting up their own enterprise and make their career.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Cabral appreciating the availability of loan application forms online urged them to enable the applicants to submit it online who will save time and money. He also stressed the need to modify the scheme for availing assistance under Self Help Groups (SHGs) which at present is five members, to accommodate more members while pointing that SHG’s consist more than 5 members.  This would enable all SHG to avail benefit.

Shri Deepak Pauskar said to start any business; self confident along with financial support is must. The Government will provide all possible support to one who desires to do the business and shows her /his interest in business. Qualified engineers who register themselves with PWD Ministry can get contractual work and earn money he concluded.

Earlier, Shri Sadanand Shet Tanavade welcomed the guests.

Dy. General Manager, EDC, Smt. Pujan Makwana compared the function where as Shri Sanjay Satardekar proposed the vote of thanks.

Panaji: November 19, 2019 …Minister for Art and Culture and Chairman of Kala Academy, Shri Govind Gaude recently inaugurated the 39^th edition of the prestigious Surashree Kesarbai Kerkar Music Festival organized by Kala Academy Goa at Master Dattaram Auditorium, Rajiv Gandhi Kala Mandir, Ponda. The three days festival was held with the participation of a galaxy of top rated vocalists and instrumentalists of India.

While speaking on the occasion Minister Shri Gaude said, Kerkar Music festival is the festival which is rated amongst the top 10 music festival of India having glamour of its own. Goa and Art are the two sides of one coin he said. Music and singing gives peace to ones soul and also beyond that helps to achieve the true meaning of life. He urged students to take benefit of the 350 music teachers and assistant teachers appointed by Department of Art and Culture across State.

MLA Ponda, Shri. Ravi Naik; Director, Kala Academy, Goa, Shri Pravin Barad and Director, Department of Art and Culture and Member Secretary, Kala Academy Goa, Shri Gurudas Pilarnkar were present on the occasion. All the concerts in the festival were open to music lovers & general public. The Department of Tourism, Govt. of Goa supported the event as one of the event Sponsors and Rajiv Gandhi Kala Mandir, Ponda –Goa were the venue partners and Goa Tourism Development Corporation as the hospitality partners to the event.

Prior to the inaugural function, the curtain raiser event of the festival, a Symposium on the topic “Contribution of Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana to Indian Classical Music” was held at the Art Gallery. In which speakers/ experts of music namely Vidushi Shruti Sadolikar Katkar, Dr. Vasanti Tembe, Smt. Sulabha Pishawikar participated and presented their views in the threadbare discussion session which was moderated by noted music critic, Shri Keshav D. Paranjape.

After the inaugural function, Goan Young vocalist Smt. Samiksha Kakodkar presented Classical Vocal Concert followed by Classical Vocal Concert by Vidushi Dr. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande.  The first day’s session concluded with Mohanveena Instrumental Concert by Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt.