Panaji: July 11,  2017 … The Governor Dr. Smt. Mridula Sinha has appealed to all Goans to remain calm and maintain peace and harmony and resolve to deepen the solidarity and brotherhood in the society.

The Governor further said that the despicable act of desecration of the holy crosses and plaques installed in the graves in the cemetery in Curchorem, has pained her beyond words.

Such mindless acts of religious vandalism are clearly aimed at breaking the communal fabric of Goan traditional society, where people of all faith, community and creed live in peace and harmony, which  has been a hallmark of the State.

We the Goans cannot  be bogged down by  such shameful and reprehensible acts rather it should strengthen our resolve to further reinforce the secular tradition of our State. As the head of the State I have asked the DGP to act swiftly in the matter and bring the perpetrators to book immediately.

Such acts warrant zero tolerance on part of police and administration and stringent and full measures must be taken to bring the culprits behind bars. The police must devise ingenious  ways to handle such alarming situations. At the same time, the people of Goa  should remain vigilant so that  such acts are not repeated said the Governor

Panjim, 11 July: Goa Tourism Development Corporation’s trek this Sunday, July 16, will give you insights into Goa’s rich hinterlands and natural beauty. An eco trek to Sulsule and the amazing  Shelop Waterfalls will enthuse and rejuvenate you. This edition of GTDC’s eco trek will take you through the quaint village with four waterfalls within a circle of 4 kms.

One can admire the State’s flora and fauna and capture glimpses of peacocks doing the rain dance

Transport will leave from Mapusa Residency and Margao Residency at 7:30 a.m. and from Paryatan Bhavan, Panjim, at 8:30 a.m.

The charges per head are Rs 750 inclusive of packed veg. lunch, transport, guiding and insurance.

Pick-up point will be available at Verna, Cortalim, Porvorim and Banastari.

Interested trekkers are requested to carry along an extra pair of clothes, rainwear, trekking shoes, snacks and binoculars.  No smoking and   consumption of alcohol will be permitted.

For bookings contact:

Goa , July 9, 2017: Hon’ble Minister for Tourism, Govt.  of Goa, Mr. Manohar Ajgaonkar who was  Chief Guest at the concluding ceremony of India’s  largest Travel and  Trade  Fair (TTF) in Kolkata  today said, “Goa Tourism is committed on ensuring safety and security of tourists, providing  cleanliness and  hygiene at tourist location, especially along the beach belt and  also improving and augmenting  tourism related infrastructure to meet the increasing demand  from tourists to visit the State.”

Addressing an august gathering at the grand finale of the three day mega event in Kolkata, Mr. Ajgaonkar said that Goa is a leading holiday destination in India, and wooed tourists and tourism stakeholders from Kolkata, rest of India and international markets to visit and experience Goa’s natural beauty, culture and heritage.

Other dignitaries present at the concluding ceremony included Pradeep Kumar Borar, Special Secretary and Director, Rajasthan Tourism,  Nabadeep Kalita, Vice Chairman, Assam Tourism Development Corporation, Sanjiv Agarwal, Chairman & CEO, Fairfest Media Limited, V Suresh, President, Fairfest Media Limited.

Mr. Ajgaonkar distributed awards to several prize winning States including Goa Tourism which bagged the ‘Best Decorated Stall Award.’

Goa’s pavilion at the TTF Kolkata 2017 was a big draw for tourists and Goa Tourism received an overwhelming response during the three day event.

A total of 24 States and six international countries participated in the three day mega event.

Goa was one among the five Partner States for the three day TTF Kolkata 2017.  Other Partner States included Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra.  Other participating States included Kerala, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, Assam,

Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Punjab, Haryana, Odisha, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh.  Among international countries who participated  include Thailand, Sri Lanka, Macao, China,  Bangladesh, Nepal.

During the three day TTF, Goa Tourism successfully marketed itself as a 365 day holiday destination.

Goa Tourism promoted its packages and new tourism services and interacted with travel agents and trade and tour operators from Kolkata and other tourism boards. Several B2B sessions were held where national and international buyers showed interest in Goa and its various facets.

  Panaji : July 8, 2017 …. Forest plays vital role in human life. Human comforts cannot be possible without forest. Hence it is very much important to grow and nurture forest for better future of mankind, stated Principal Secretary for Forest Shri. Ranbir Singh (IAS). He was speaking at a function organised to celebrate 68^thVanmahostava by Department of Forest in collaboration with Goa College of Home Science held in a campus of Goa College of Home Science in Campal, Panjim today.

Shri. Singh further stressed on need to conserve and maintain tree cover in Goa, as it contribute largely to enhance the landscape of  this state which attributes to Goa as the best tourist destination.

Mayor, Corporation of  City of Panjim Shri. Surendra Furtado in his address said that care and maintenance is required to grow the saplings into tree. Many a times on the pretext of  celebrating Vanamahostava people plant saplings in large number but do not bother to take care of those saplings, as a result the saplings never turn into  well grown trees. If we really want green cover around our vicinity than trees need to be maintained and grown with proper care, he added.

The formal function of  Vanmahostav was marked with plantation of saplings in the campus of Goa College of Home Science by the dignitaries present on the occasion. This exercise involved the students of the Goa College of Home science and Dr. T.B. Cunha Higher Secondary School.

Besides this Mobile Van carrying Medicinal plants for public distribution in each taluka, was launched by the State Medicinal Plants Board. The Van was flagged off by Dr. Ranbir Singh in the presence of other dignitaries.

The State Medicinal plants Board will be distributing medicinal plants at a subsidised rates in every taluka. The seedling sale shall be from 10 am to 6 pm.

Goa Forest department will be carrying out tree plantation and awareness activities throughout the state during month of July in association  with  Civil society, NGOs, Corporate bodies and Educational institutes.

Incharge Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Shri. M.K.Shambu IFS and Principal of Goa College of Home Science Dr. Mahesh Pai spoke on the occasion. Principal of Dr. T.B. Cunha Higher Secondary Smt. Rashmi Bandodkar was present for the function. Asst. Professor of Goa College of Home Science Smt. Varsha Naik compared the programme. Conservator of forest Dr. Anil kumar IFS proposed vote of thank.

Panaji: July 7,  2017 …The Directorate of Art & Culture will honour 12 eminent personalities in the field of Art & Culture by conferring the prestigious ‘Goa State Cultural Award’ for their contribution & achievements in their respective fields like Music, Drama/Tiatr, Folk Art, Bhajan, Kirtan, Craft, Literature, Painting etc. The awards are for the year 2016-17.

These awardees have set an example to the youth of Goa and are encouraging them by dedicating their life for promotion and preservation of Art & Culture of the state.

The recipients of awards for the year 2016-17 are Shri.PramodPriolkar, Priol-Ponda, Music(Indian), Shri.F.G.Alvaro de A. Pereira, Utorda-Salcete, Music(Western), Shri. Dasu Shirodkar, Tarvalem Ponda, Literature, Shri. Gajanan Jog, Caranzalem-Tiswadi, Literature, Shri. Avecleto Afonso, Panaji-Tiswadi, Literature, Shri. Ganesh Marathe,  Corlim-Tiswadi, Theatre(Drama), Smt. Maria Fernandes, Sangolda –Bardez, Theatre (Tiatr), Shri. RomaldoD’souza, Chinchinnim Salcete, Theatre (Tiatr), Shri. Udaybua Phadke, Mulgao-Bicholim, Kirtan, Shri. UmeshTari, Old-goa-Tiswadi, Bhajan, Shri. Ram Mauskar,Nagargaon-Sattari, Folk Art and Shri. SadashivParab,Moira-Bardez, Fine Art.

The Awards comprises of a cash purse of Rs.1,00,000/- each, a certificate, shrifal,  Nataraj Replica and  shawl. 

Government also honors one Best Cultural Institution, working in the field of Art & Culture every year for the year 2016-17. The Best Cultural Institution award will be conferred on Antruz Lalitak, Bandora Ponda.The award consists of a Memento and Cash purse of Rs.3.00 Lakh.

Similarly six youth personalities have been selected for the ‘Yuva Srujan Puraskar’ (Navasarjan –Chetna Puraskar) award.  Shri Mayuresh D.Vast,Curchorem, Quepem, Music, Shri Dayaram B.Padloskar,Dhargal, Pernem, Literature, Miss Jessica J.Gomes,Colva Salcete, Tiatr, Miss Sucheta Narvekar,Gaunem Ponda,  Drama, Shri SachinNaikBandora Ponda, Fine Art and Shri Chetan V. Khedekar, Priol Ponda, Folk –Art.

The awardees will be honored with a memento, certificate of appreciation and a financial purse to the extent of Rs. 25,000/- per awardee.

The Goa State Cultural Awards for Individuals, Best Cultural Institution and yuva srujan puraskar will be presented to the awardees at a special function to be organized by the department

Panaji: July 5,  2017 … Weekly review on retail  prices of essential commodities for the week ending June 30, 2017 for Panaji , Margao,  Mapusa and Vasco centres is as follows.

The prices of parboiled rice local, parboiled rice outside, raw rice super fine, raw rice fine, raw rice common, gur fine and sugar S-30 remained steady in all the markets during the week.

Prices of  moongdal, masoordal and moong remained steady in all the markets during the week under review. Turdal Barshi at Panaji decreased by Rs. 10/- per kilo, but was steady in other markets. Uraddal, gramdal and peasdry at Margao increased by Rs. 15/-, Rs. 5/- to Rs. 10/- and Rs. 1/- to Rs.2/- per kilo respectively, but was steady in other markets. Gram Kabuli big at Margao decreased by Rs. 10/- per kilo, but was steady in other markets.

The prices of coconut oil  and Vanaspati ghee “Dalda” pkt. of 1 litre were steady in all the markets during the week under review.

Prices of  onions, beans and cabbage remained steady in all the markets during the week. Potatoes at Panaji decreased by Rs. 2/- to Rs. 5/- per kilo, but were steady in other markets. Tomatoes at Mapusa and Vasco increased by Rs. 10/- to Rs. 15/- and Rs. 5/- to Rs. 10/- per kilo respectively, but were steady in other markets. Chillies green at Margao decreased by Rs. 10/- to Rs.20/- per kilo, but were steady in other markets.

The prices of coconuts of 100 bharti, 120 bharti, 150 bharti and 180 bharti remained steady in all the markets during the week.

Panaji:  July 4, 2017 … The Science Express Train on theme ‘Climate Action Special’ – an innovative mobile science exhibition mounted on a 16 coach AC train, travelling across India will be arriving at Madgaon Railway Station on July 11, 2017.   

The Science Express Train a flagship programme of the Dept. of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India will arrive at the Madgaon Railway Station on July 11, 2017 and will be stationed there till July 13, 2017.  The exhibition is open to all and free for viewing between 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. but primarily targets the students and teachers.

Science Express has become the largest, the longest running and the most visited mobile science exhibition and has twelve entries in the Limca Book of Records.

The current ninth phase of the Science Express as SECAS II was flagged off on February 17, 2017 from Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station by Shri Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Railways; Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences and Late Shri Anil Madhav Dave, Minister of State (I/C) for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Govt. of India.

 The current tour of SECAS is being exhibited at 68 stations across India, covering 19000 km. SECAS is focusing on Climate Change and Science & Technology. The exhibition conveys message about Climate Change and is also a good opportunity to generate dialogue and discussion.

The SECAS II is a unique collaborative initiative of Dept. of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC), Dept. of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Railways, Govt of India; Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre (VASCSC).

Climate Change is an important environmental issue, with many short term and long term impacts. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are not just global in scope and unprecedented in scale but they also more severely affect the poor and marginalized people. There is very little understanding about climate change and its impacts. The state-of-the-art exhibition on board the SECAS aims to create awareness among various sections of society as to how climate change can be combated through mitigation and adaptation.

Eight coaches of SECAS exhibition put up by MoEFCC is exclusively devoted to information, case studies and material related to various aspect of Climate change, the underlying science, impacts, adaptation activities, mitigation solutions and policy approaches in a manner that is easy to understand and interesting for not just school students but also the masses. In rest of the rake, there are exhibits and activities put up by DBT and DST.

The broad theme covered in each exhibition coach being Understanding Climate Change; Impact of Climate Change; Adaptation – Concepts of adaptation and examples from day to day life, adaptation strategies and stories from field; Mitigation – Concept and definition with examples, emphasis on restoring balance, enhancing sinks and reducing emission through Renewable Energy (RE) technologies; International Negotiations for Climate Change; Positive Actions; etc.

There is also a special Kids Zone set up for children from Std. 5 and below to participate in fulfilled activities, games and puzzles in science, mathematics and environment besides  a coach on The Joy of Science (JOS) with a Hands-on Lab where students from Std. 6-10 can perform experiments and activities to understand concepts in environment, science and mathematics in an interesting manner. A training facility is also set up for orientation of teachers here.

At each halt of SECAS, activities are planned to engage visitors across different age groups to reinforce its message. An exciting and much sought-after Outreach Programme is also conducted in local schools/institutions along with activities on the railway platforms. In addition, informative take-away material is made available for wider distribution amongst schools and visitors.

DST has entrusted Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre (VASCSC), Ahmedabad with the task of managing the SECAS across India. VASCSC’s team of qualified, trained and highly motivated Science Communicators travelling with the train explain and interpret the exhibition, answers queries, facilitate the visitors and conduct complementary activities.

For visit to the exhibition or any queries, please send an email to sciencexpress@gmail.com or contact the team aboard the train on 09428405407. School students can participate in the JOS Lab in small batches of up to 20 students, by prior registration.

Panaji: July 3,  2017::  Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Government of India is implementing six scholarship schemes for students with disabilities.

Pre-matric scholarships for Class IX and X, Post-matric scholarships for Class XI to Post-graduation, Scholarship for Top Class Education for Post-Graduate Degree of Diploma in 240 notified institutions on National Scholarship Portal, National Fellowship for Persons with Disabilities for M.Phil/Ph.D, Free Coaching for students with Disabilities (Launched from April 1, 2017) and National Overseas Scholarships for Post graduation and Ph.D in Universities/Institutes abroad.

The registration of students  on the NSP has already been started from June 1, 2017. The details of these schemes are available on the website. (www.disabilityaffairs.gov.in)

 The last date of applying on-line on the portal for Pre-matric is September 30, 2017 and Post-matric  and Top Class Education Scholarship Scheme is October 31, 2017. The last date for applications for renewal candidates is July 31, 2017.

For more details interested can contact the Directorate of Social Welfare, 18^th June Road, Panaji. Phone No:0832-2232257. Email id:socialwelfaregoa@rediffmail.com