My Goa 11 03 2017

cover story: Who will be Goa’s next Chief Minister?

RNI No. goaeng/2015/60455

MyGoa `10

11 MARCH 2017

the complete goan newsweekly

vol 3 | issue 6 | panaji - goa | 16 pages

The BJP is a pale shadow of its old self, as it figures out what went wrong with the campaign; while Congress has emerged as the single largest party at the hustings

congress

single largest party

editorial

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goa has spoken

Harshvardhan Bhatkuly

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his has been an incredible election result in Goa. Not just because it threw most pollsters and their analysis out of the window, but more because it reinforces the idea of the secret ballot.

The access to social media has created certain self-styled political pundits who feel that it is their métier to predict the will of the people.

Worse, there are people who sit in the cool comforts of their palaces and double think on the way the man on the street will vote.

For good or bad, the man and the woman on the street have spoken. And they have been categorical in their assessment of the situation in the state. Their votes have spoken.

However, I would fail in my editorial duties if I do not pinpoint certain takeaways from this hustings.

The results started with the not so unexpected defeat of the Chief Minister. However, the margin of his defeat must have surprised all and sundry. It is said that this is the first time in the history of the state that the Chief Minister had to bite the dust. In that respect, it seemed right on the BJP’s part not to have made him the face of the electoral campaign.

The second factor is that Goa and Goans have more often than not voted for the candidate and not the party.

That is why we see the return of many old daddies back to the Assembly. People vote for the candidate and think what is best for their constituencies.

The larger picture is mostly a blur. The Aam Aadmi Party will also have to regroup and think constituency-wise and not party-wise, because Goa has clearly not bought into their brand of politics, notwithstanding the fact that the AAP ran the most voluble and well-planned campaign across the state.

It is said with a pinch of salt that are 3 types of falsehoods – lies, white lies and research.

Few research companies, albeit with tacit understanding and perhaps sponsorship by certain political parties created enough flutter with their ‘findings’ and declared winners in their reports. It is heartening to know that their conjecture had a yawning gap with reality.

But perhaps the bigger message that the electorate has sent to the powers-that-be is not to take it for granted. I can’t name the chemical composition that gets into the minds of the party and candidate that wins the elections – and it holds true to the winners of this election as well. They quickly seem to forget the very reason why they got elected in the first place. Promises made to weed out corruption, to cleanse the muck of illegal mining, to drive away the menace of casinos, got conveniently forgotten by the party that was voted to power for precisely the same reason.

The other fact is that howsoever attractive a government may create schemes under the garb of social security, the proceeds for the same come from another class which is working hard to pay the government in form of taxes. The idea of doles creates angst among the working class, who despise the fact that these doles are given to those who don’t deserve the state largesse.

Now, there could be some really genuine cases and classes which require the blanket of social security. But creating doles for every conceivable social stratum seems like the concept is stretched far beyond it utility.

As Goa gets ready to a new set of legislators who will step into the assembly, let us hope that they legislate for the larger good of the common man.

The great circus of democracy is over – it’s now time for the elected candidates to walk the Email me at hbhatkuly@gmail.com talk.

Saturday, 11 March 2017

idea of the week

Google invites entries from Goa for SMB Heroes Awards to recognize businesses that have embraced digital to become successful Google India reaffirmed its commitment to digitally empower India’s small and medium business community by announcing the launch of SMB Heroes, a nationwide program designed to recognize and celebrate SMBs that have embraced digital to grow their business. A nationwide program in partnership with FICCI, SMB Heroes will comprise of three categories – Business Innovation through Digital, Impacting Change through Digital and Woman Business Leader.

Businesses from across the country can submit their nominations on the SMB Heroes website <g.co/ smbheroes>. The last date for entries is April 24, 2017.

Following this, one winner from each category will be shortlisted from five major zones, culminating in a

national finale in Delhi later this year.

Talking about the 2017 SMB Heroes challenge, Shalini Girish, Director - Google Marketing Solutions said; “Small and medium businesses are the backbone of Indian economy and are powering the next wave of the country’s growth. We are deeply committed to partnering these businesses in accelerating their growth through high quality digital training and tools. Our new initiative, SMB Heroes celebrates small and medium businesses that have successfully embraced digital and will provide a roadmap to businesses that are yet to embark on this journey.”

Recognizing the need to address this gap, Google has commenced Digital Unlocked an online, offline and mobile training program to empower

in the News Mahabaleshwar Sail 74-year-old renowned Konkani writer, Mahabaleshwar Sail, has been honoured with the Saraswati Samman 2016 for his novel Hawthan.

Mahabaleshwar Sail’s book Hawthan was published in 2009 and was shortlisted from 22 books written in as many languages. The selection for the award, given every year for an outstanding literary work written in any Indian language by an Indian Citizen and published during the last 10 years, is made by a jury presided by former Chief Justice of India A S Anand.

The award carries a cash prize of 15 lakh along with citation. Goa-based Mahabaleshwar Sail is a

Konkani author Mahabaleshwar Sail awarded the Saraswati Samman renowned writer who has four Marathi dramas and

Unsolicited material may not be returned. The opinions in columns and other stories expressed in My Goa are not necessarily that of the publishers and the Publisher/Editor shall not be held liable for any inaccuracy or otherwise. While great care is being taken to ensure accuracy of information, the publishers are not responsible for omissions or incorrect information. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the permission of the publishers.

thousands of Indian SMBs with essential digital skills.

In keeping with the varied learning needs of the millions of businesses in India, the program is built across online, offline and mobile.

The offline training is being conducted in partnership with FICCI and over the next three years, 5,000 workshops will be held across 40 Indian cities.

The online training comprises a set of 90 selfpaced video tutorials, curated specifically for India and is available free of charge at g.co/ digitalunlocked.

The tutorials cover a comprehensive set of topics ranging from building a web presence and driving online growth to reaching customers over mobile and video. The trainings are certified by Google, Indian School of Business and FICCI.

seven Konkani novels to his credit. The novel Hawthan is a well researched work of fiction presenting the cultural map of the traditional potter community of Goa. One of Mahabaleshwar Sail’s short stories had been made into a film called Palthadcho Manis by noted film maker Lakshmikant Shetgaonkar, which won the Critic’s Award at the Toronto Film Festival.

Sail has been conferred with Sahitya Academy Award (1993), Dr. T.M.A. Pai Award (1997), Goa Kala Academy Award (1989 and 1996), Katha Award (2007), Cultural Award of Goa Government (2006) and Literary Award of Goa Government (2007).

Sail has also won the Vimla V. Pai Vishwa Konkani Sahitya Puraskar 2010.

Editorial, Advertising and Administrative Office MY GOA 409, Citicentre, EDC Patto Plaza, Panaji, 403001 Goa INDIA Tel.: 0832-6456555, 2437822 Email: mygoa.mag@gmail.com www.mygoanews.com

Printed, published and owned by Harshvardhan V. Bhatkuly and printed at Elegant Offset Printers Pvt Ltd, Shed No D2-31, Thivim Industrial Estate, Karaswada, Mapusa Goa and Published at 409, Citicentre, EDC Patto Plaza, Panaji - Goa 403001. Editor: Harshvardhan V. Bhatkuly

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Saturday, 11 March 2017

COVERSTORY

Winners of the 2017 Goa Assembly Elections 1. mandrem

2. pernem

Dayanand Sopte (Congress)

Babu Azgaonkar (M G Party)

9. porvorim

10. Aldona

Rohan Khaunte (Independent)

Glen Ticlo (BJP)

17. sanquelim

18. poriem

Dr. Pramod Sawant Pratapsingh Rane (BJP) (Congress)

3. bicholim

4. thivim

5. mapusa

Rajesh Patnekar Nilkanth Halarnkar Francis Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Souza (BJP) (Congress) (BJP)

6. siolim

7. saligao

8. Calangute

Vinod Palienkar Jayesh Salgaonkar (Goa Forward) (Goa Forward)

Michael Lobo (BJP)

14. st. andre 15. cumbarjua

16. mayem

Sidharth KuncalienkarJennifer Monserate Antonio Fernandes Francis Silveira Pandurang Madkaikar

Pravin Zantye (BJP)

11. panaji

12. taleigao

13. St. cruz

(BJP)

(Congress)

(Congress)

(Congress)

19. valpoi

20. priol

21. ponda

22. shiroda

Vishwajit Rane (Congress)

Govind Gaude (Independent)

Ravi Naik (Congress)

23. Marcaim 24. mormugao

Subhash Shirodkar Sudin Dhavalikar (Congress) (M G Party)

25. vasco

26. dabolim

27. cortalim

28. nuvem

29. curtorim

30. fatorda

Carlos Almeida (BJP)

Mauvin Godinho (BJP)

Alina Saldanha (BJP)

Wilfred Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Sa (Congress)

Aleixo Reginaldo (Congress)

Vijai Sardesai (Goa Forward)

33. navelim

34. cuncolim

35. velim

Luizinho Faleiro (Congress)

Clafasio Dias (Congress)

Felipe Nery Rodrigues

(Congress)

(BJP)

31. margao

Milind Naik (BJP) 32. Benaulim

Digambar Kamat Churchill Alemao (Nationalist Congress) (Congress)

36. quepem 37. curchorem38. sanvordem 39. Sanguem 40. canacona

Babu Kavlekar (Congress)

Nilesh Cabral (BJP)

Deepak Pauskar (M G Party)

Prasad Gaonkar Isidore Fernandes (Congress) (Independent)

COVERSTORY

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Congress leads the tally in a hung Assembly

Rohan Khaunte

The BJP is a pale shadow of its old self as it figures out what went wrong with the campaign; while Congress has emerged as the single largest party at the hustings

My Goa news desk

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s expected, the results of the Goa Assembly elections have shown that the people of Goa have not given a clear mandate to any single party. The almost written off Indian National Congress (Goa Unit) has made a remarkable comeback to be the single largest party at the Goa Assembly elections with 17 seats. The results declared today, threw up many a surprise winner. The biggest surprise of all, by far, was the loss of the incumbent CM, Laxmikant Parsekar in Mandrem. This loss is almost symbolic of the BJP’s fall from grace. Tourism Minister, Dilip Parulekar and former Speaker/ Environment Minister, Rajendra Arlekar along with their counterparts in the cabinet, Mahadev Naik and Dayanand Mandrekar were the other casualties of the electoral process. BJP with 13 seats, though not completely out of the equation, as far as formation of the new government is concerned, will still have their task cut out.

They will be at the mercy of MGP as well as Goa Forward Party, and maybe a couple of independents too.

Congress Makes a Comeback The Congress comeback, along with the blank drawn by AAP contradictory to some preelection polls, has been the big story of this election. The successful re-entry of seasoned leaders like Churchill Alemao, Ravi Naik, and Subhash Shirodkar has shown that you can never completely discount experience when it comes to contesting an election. Though the Congress is not in a position to form

Goan Summer of 2017. The strategy of Goa Forward to field only four candidates after its talks to form alliance with Congress failed, proved to be a strategic masterstroke for the newbie political entrant on the state canvas.

The Congress comeback has been the big story of this election.

The successful re-entry of seasoned leaders like Churchill Alemao, Ravi Naik, and Subhash Shirodkar has shown that you can never completely discount experience when it comes to an election the government on their own, their chances are bright considering the fact that they had an alliance with the MGP the last time the Congress was in power. The MGP leadership this time, might just be waiting for the right kind of wooing on account of being ‘eligible’ after breaking ties with the BJP. AAP Draws Nought: The failure of AAP to not be able to win a single seat just shows that Goa has not warmed up to the Kejriwal brand of politics.

AAP will have to focus on doing a lot of ground work to

win over the Goan populace and not depend on either the volunteers from other parts of India or the theatrics of Kejriwal. Most polls predicted AAP would win at least 1 or 2 seats, but they have been unable to live up to even that, which definitely will be a big setback even considering the fact that it was their first outing in an assembly election in the state.

Goa Forward Shines The other first timer, as a newly formed local party, Goa Forward with 3 seats has done pretty well for themselves and today find themselves in a position to call the shots when it comes to the new power centre in Goa. Party Supremo and Fatorda MLA, Vijay Sardesai will be a busy man over the next few days and could land himself a plum ministerial berth depending on how he plays his cards. The way things stand at the moment, he has his options open and could go with either the Congress or the BJP, depending on how things pan out. The Fatorda strongman may, after all, have his day out in the sun in this

MGP’s Zero Gain Although it could not add to its tally of 3 seats in the last Assembly, the MGP, just like Goa Forward, might also be in a position to call the shots, but this performance of theirs is definitely a couple of notches below their past performances.

They might well be ruing their hard core stance when it came to the pre-poll alliance with the BJP. The break in the alliance might have cost both these parties individually as well as collectively. While one of the Dhavalikar brothers, Sudin won comfortably, the other brother, Deepak found himself at the wrong end of the result – and had to face a humiliating blow at the hands of BJP-backed independent Goving Gaude in Priol This is a big blow to the MGP and where they go from here will be very interesting to see. The fact that neither Congress nor BJP have a clear majority will keep them in the hunt until the last word has been heard on the formation of the new state government.

Sudin Dhavalikar

Advantage Independents: Whenever there is a hung Assembly, the stock of independent winners skyrocket.

The three independent candidates, Rohan Khaunte (Porvorim), Govind Gaude (Priol), and Prasad Gaonkar (Sanguem) will find themselves in enviable positions. They just need to evaluate their options smartly while keeping in mind the best interests of their constituency as well as the state at large.

Rohan Khaunte might fancy his chances of playing a bigger role in the new government, after being one of the active MLAs in the previous assembly. His individual strategy of not jumping on a party bandwagon has worked marvellously for the young legislator.

Babush Monseratte

Babush Wins Everything Except Panaji.

Last but not the least, one more big surprise of this election is the loss of the Taleigao strongman, Babush Monserrate. His aspiration for the Panaji seat did not yield the right result as he lost out to the BJP candidate, Siddharth Kuncolienkar by a little over thousand votes.

Babush’s valiant attempt to break into the BJP stronghold of Panaji has backfired on him, though he was considered to be a frontrunner to pip the BJP in their bastion. Ironically, while Babush lost, the candidates who contested the elections

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Saturday, 11 March 2017

on Congress tickets and were backed by him, won comfortably. These include his wife Jennifer from Taleigao, Tony Rodrigues from St. Cruz, Francis Silveira from St. Andre and Isidore Fernandes from Canacona. Babush will feel the pain of this defeat for some time to come. That he will play some role indirectly if the Congress comes to power, through the above mentioned candidates, is a foregone conclusion. So, he just cannot be counted out of Goan politics on the basis of this loss.

BJP’s Debacle Finally, coming back to the BJP, it will need to be said that the whole RSS-Velingkar issue besides other issues such as casinos and the various u-turns have come back to haunt them. Their candidates, who were certain to win, have won comfortably – Francis D’Souza from Mapusa, Nilesh Cabral from Curchorem and Michael Lobo from Calangute being some of them. It is noteworthy that the two candidates imported by the BJP from the Congress just before the election – Mauvin Godinho and Pandurang Madkaikar won as expected.

These two candidates who

enjoy a strong support from their constituents could have easily won on Congress tickets, as well; and assuming the same results in all the other constituencies, Congress would have been in an even stronger position. So, these two might end up ruing what could have been if they have to sit in the opposition yet again.

Centre’s Signal The BJP is not taking the loss at the hustings kindly. Besides his prestige being at stake, Union Defence Minister had made it his personal challenge to see through the elections, this time around.

It is rumoured that depending on what the Centre dictates, the BJP may woo the MGP and Goa Forward Party with an offer that the regional parties may find too good to refuse.

Laxmikant Parsekar

Mauvin Godinho

Pandurang Madkaikar

It is noteworthy that the two candidates imported by the BJP from the Congress just before the election – Mauvin Godinho and Pandurang Madkaikar won as expected. These two candidates who enjoy a strong support from their constituents could have easily won on Congress tickets, as well

In the meantime, Laxmikant Parsekar has accepted the moral responsibility for the party’s defeat in the state, although he was not made the face of the campaign. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari , who was the observer for the polls will be in Goa to chart the future course of action. Gadkari is known to have close relations with Sudin Dhavlikar, but with two new faces like former Congressman Babu Azgaonkar and Deepak Pauskar, the comfort level that Dhavlikar enjoyed with his brother and Ponda legislator Lavoo Mamledar may be missing, this time around.

All eyes will be on the Congress Legislative Committee which will, in all likelihood, be called by the Governor, as the single largest party to form the government.

Who will be Goa’s next Chief Minister?

Luizinho Faleiro

Francis D’Souza

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Digambar Kamat

Vijai Sardesai

he results thrown up by the recent assembly elections in Goa have brought out the possibilities of some very interesting scenarios that are likely to unfold over the next couple of days. There will be close door meetings.

Both BJP as well as Congress top brass will have their hands full.

Negotiations will be on in full swing with the MGP, Goa Forward, and the independents. Give and take will be the mantra and everyone will be putting their best foot forward in terms of giving as little as possible while taking as much as they can for their respective parties or self. Both the Congress as well as the BJP can form the new government with ‘external help’, and it will be extremely interesting to see who Goa’s next CM will be.

Will Goa get a new CM or will it be a repeat CM? This question is bound to be on top of most peoples’ minds until it is eventually answered.

In case the Congress forms the next government, they need four MLAs in addition to their own. So, they can do it with the help of either Goa Forward or MGP and one independent or NCP (Churchill Alemao). In a scenario where the Congress forms the government with help from any of the other parties and independents, the most likely candidate to

Pratapsingh Rane

Vishwajit Rane

be Chief Minister could be Digambar Kamat. Having been CM earlier and also being close to Vijai Sardesai is what works best for him. Luizinho Faleiro could be the other front runner, considering the role he has played for the Congress in this election. Though the Congress did not really announce anybody as the CM candidate, if there was one it could well have been Luizinho.

But his personal differences with Goa Forward Party supreme could well be a bone of contention for the post-poll alliance.

In case, the Congress decides to go for younger blood keeping the future in mind, then Vishwajeet Rane might come into the reckoning.

With the clout that his father enjoys within the Congress, there might be a strong push for him to be made the CM. Having said that, just as a long shot, Senior Rane with all his experience as CM might be called upon to guide the Congress yet again by stepping up as CM, but this is one of the less likely possibilities considering his.

In case, the BJP goes on to form the government, they will need the support of 8 more MLAs. If they succeed in putting together the required numbers, then the front runner for the CM’s post could be the erstwhile Dy

CM, Francis D’Souza. After all, he had just lost out on this post to Laxmikant Parsekar even though he was the next in line after Manohar Parrikar was elevated to the position of Defence Minister. In case the BJP decides to once again sideline D’Souza and go for young blood, then the names of Siddharth Kuncolienkar, Michael Lobo or Nilesh Cabral have been doing the rounds in certain circles; and with Parsekar and some other senior leaders having gone out of the mix, this maybe a possibility, however distant it may seem. Another possibility that is being talked about in case BJP comes to power is that Manohar Parrikar himself might come back and take charge as the CM. The same could hold good for Shripad Naik too, although it seems difficult as to where the Minister for AYUSH would contest for a bye-election, given the tight cornered constituencies that are with the BJP today.

Considering that the two bigger parties are going to have to negotiate hard with GF and MGP to make up the necessary numbers, this can also present opportunity to either Vijay Sardessai or Sudin Dhavlikar to put themselves in a good position depending on how they position themselves in the negotiations. But this will of course depend on so many other factors. They might have a stronger say in case they deal with the BJP than the Congress just on the basis of the numbers.

The possibility that the wily old campaigner, Churchill Alemao once again finds himself in the running to be a CM is a distinct possibility too, but he will have to pray for a lot of other things to fall in place for his chances to brighten.

But he had the good fortune to become the CM once and the way he has made a comeback after being routed at the election the last time around, who knows, it may well be his time to lead the state yet again.

MY GOA | Saturday, 11 March 2017 | Pg 6

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social

Goa Women Power to celebrate International Women’s Day

GWP members (L to R) Fauzia Shahid, Dr. Jennifer Lewis e Kamat, Vrushali Parsekar, Asha Arondekar, Nimisha Kamat and Valerie Fernandes

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he Goa Women Power (GWP) group will be organising a special Women’s entrepreneurial conference to commemorate International Women’s Day, on the 15th of March 2017, at Taj Vivanta Hotel in Campal, Panjim.

The announcement was made at a press conference on Thursday at the Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) headquarters in Panjim. Dr Jennifer Lewis e

Goa Women Power group will be organising a special Women’s entrepreneurial conference to commemorate International Women’s Day, on 15 March 2017 Kamat, Chairperson of the GCCI Women’s Wing, outlined the details of the upcoming conference, GWP members Fauzia Shahid, Vrushali Parsekar, Asha Arondekar,

Nimisha Kamat and Valerie Fernandes were also present.

The aim of the event is to empower and give a platform to budding female entrepreneurs by imbibing the wisdom of powerful business women leaders of Goa. This is the first time in Goa that such an event is taking place and it is exclusively for the business women of the State.

The Chief Guest for the event will be Mridula Sinha, honourable Governor of Goa

and the Guest of Honour will be Nila Mohanan (I.A.S.), Collector – North Goa. The lineup of inspirational women speakers at the conference will include leading international fado singer Sonia Shirsat, super biker Sandra Rodrigues, mountaineer Bianca Dias and Stacy Rodrigues, who is a visually impaired professional painter.

Besides these phenomenal women speakers, Dr Parmod Salgaocar, a leading

obstetrician and gynecologist will be presenting a talk on work-life balance, while Harpreet Parischa, a top dietitian and nutritionist will give insights into Health Management for Women.

Registration for the event will take place on the day of the conference, between 4pm and 5pm. This will be followed by networking and high tea.

Every woman who is present will be given an opportunity to introduce their business.

License of offshore casino owned by Gopal Kanda’s co. renewed

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head of the counting for the state assembly polls, the incumbent government gave a nod to the renewal of sixth casino in River Mandovi.

The license to Golden Globe Hotels Private Ltd. comes on conditional renewal terms after the High Court ordered the state government of taking a decision on the 6th off shore

casino within 24 hours.

Former Haryana minister Gopal Kanda’s MDLR Group under which the GGHPL functions had filed a fresh petition for the renewal of licence in Mandovi. “The government hereby grants approval of licence to the said licensee subject to the condition,” said the order

by Home Secretary Neetal Amonkar.

The High Court of Bombay at Goa on March 10th had directed the incumbent state government to consider the application filed by GGHPL seeking renewal of licence for its offshore casino in Mandovi within 24 hours. Upon accepting

The High Court of Bombay at Goa on March 10th had directed the incumbent state government to consider the application filed

by GGHPL seeking renewal of licence for its offshore casino in Mandovi within 24 hours the renewal application, the state government has given 24 hours for the GGHPL to produce statutory documents.

“The time of 24 hours flows from the time given by the High Court to the government and is a co-shared time frame. As this order issued on March 9, the time frame shall be covered

to run from 10am on March 10 and to conclude on 12pm on March 14 as March 11, 12 and 13 being statutory holidays,” under secretary (home) Neetal Amonkar stated in the order.

The order further added that, “In case the applicant is unable to produce any of the required documents, he should seek specific extension of time along with reason.”

Ruling party BJP which renewed the license for the sixth casino was a vocal opposition to the casinos when it was introduced by the then Congress government.

Now with the election results out, whether the BJP’s stance on Casino remain the same as it did when in power, or change will be an interesting thing to see.

weekdiary

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Shigmo to add colour to Goa

G

oa’s biggest religious Hindu festival spread across various parts of the state will begin on the 14th of March 2017 and will continue up till the 27th of March 2017. The floats parades that includes Chitrarath, Romtamel and Folk Dance will begin from Ponda and further move on to other parts of the State.

The Shigmo, this year, is expected to attract a remarkable amount of tourists to Goa. A festival filled with colours, music, dance and floats, Shigmo remarkably draws a large number of locals and travellers. Showcasing Goan heritage

and traditions, massive troupes perform folk dances including Ghode Modni and Fugdi on the streets along with a procession. Well-lit streets with the striking décor, lively parades, delicious Goan delicacies and music and dance performances, Goa is dressed best during the Shigmo days.

The state government has supported public Shigmo parades consisting of traditional folk and street dancers and elaborately built floats depicting scenes from regional mythology and religious scenes. Shigmo is considered a local variant of the Indian Holi. The celebration is split into two parts; five

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14 days of colourful floats, music and dance with the Shigmo festivities

days before the full moon in Phalgun month (FebruaryMarch) the Shigmo called Dhakto Shigmo begins which is celebrated in villages. The celebration of the Shigmo called Vhaldo Shigmo starts on the full moon night and also lasts during five days, and all the citizens of the state participate in this festival. Traditionally it was celebrated as spring’s biggest festival which honoured the homecoming of the warriors who had left their homes and families at the end of Dusshera to fight

the invaders. Traditional folk dances and performing of mythological scenes is the major highlight of this parade.

The parade begins with a bang when the people of Goa dress up in colourful outfits, holding multi coloured flags and playing large musical instruments like the Dhol, Tasha and flutes in processions across the cities.

The Shigmo Parade Schedule 14th March in Ponda (South Goa) 15th March in Vasco (South Goa) 16th March in Valpoi (North Goa) 17th March in Bicholim (North Goa) 18th March in Panjim (Central Goa) 19th March in Margao (South Goa) 20th March in Curchorem (South Goa) 21st March in Dharbandora (South Goa) 22nd March in Quepem (South Goa) 23rd March in Cuncolim (South Goa) 24th March in Sanguem & Shiroda (both South Goa) 25th March in Canacona (South Goa) & Thivim (North Goa) 26th March in Mapusa (North Goa) 27th March in Pernem & Sanquelim (North Goa)

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business

Rotary Club of Panaji Riviera hosts Tax Conclave on GST

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Tax Conclave on upcoming Goods and Service Tax was held on 4th of March 2017 at Panjim Convention Centre.

This conclave was organised by Rotary Club of Panaji Riviera in association with TaxSutra

The Conclave was inagurated by Hon’ble Commissioner of Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax K. Anapazjakhan who appreciated this kind of Tax Conclave that will immensely benefit the industry and impart knowledge as how to go about GST. The Conclave started with welcome address by Raja Melvani, President of Rotary Club of Panaji Riviera who welcomed the gathering, Event Chairman and eminent Chartered Accountant Prasad Pawar and the Conclave Moderator Rupesh Srivastava from TaxSutra.

At GST Tax Conclave organised by Rotary Club of Panaji Riviera almost 450+ delegates participated from Goa and raised the expectations from the speakers.

The forenoon session by Adv. Vaitheeswaran, explained the objectives of GST. He explained that retaining multiple rates of GST, a high cap on GST rate being conceived, the continuing challenge of classification of goods and services, restrictions

(L to R) Raja Melvani, Rupesh Srivastava of Tax Sutra, K. Anapazjakhan - Commissioner of Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax, Adv Vaitheeswaran, P V Srinivasan and Prasad Pawar

on taking input tax credit, the ad-hoc measures for allocation of tax administrations etc. are pointers that GST will not be simple. He pointed out that removal of cascading taxes is the gain for trade and industry and IGST is an innovative solution. The task of classifying goods into various rate baskets is a difficult task, given that Cental Government has exempted many agri related goods from excise duty and currently theses products suffer only VAT. Similarly the States have their exemption list. The Constitution had not placed on States exercising full autonomy with regard to rates of tax. The GST Council, in the best case, could only make recommendations, which will

be a challenge if some States notify very low rates on some goods, distorting the market.

Levy of a very high rate by a State on some goods would hurt the industry though other States would not bring it for consideration of the GST Council. The consumer will experience “sticker shock” once GST is implementedeven a lower tax incidence could be perceived as higher imposition of tax. Restaurants serving alcohol and food would face the difficulty of showing multiple tax components in a single invoice, which is not desirable in such businesses.

The participants got many new insights and the appreciation was evident.

P V Srinivasan’s session

covered the importance of Registration by stating that it is central to the administration of GST. A pan-India business entity may require registration in each State, adding up to 36 registrations. There would be recording of many intra-entity transactions and payment of IGST On the same. With an electronic cash ledger and electronic credit ledger specific to each registration, large business houses would main 72 accounts. With CGST, SGST and IGST accounting in each State, there could be theoretically 108 taxes for an entity with Pan India business operations. Thus, GST In India is not simple. Place of Supply Rules determine whether supplies are Intra-State

Raveena Tandon inaugurates PNG Jewellers store in Margao PNG Jewellers a 185 year old legacy, further fortifies its presence in India by launching its second store in Goa. The store was inaugurated by Bollywood diva Raveena Tandon in presence of Saurabh Gadgil, Chairman and Managing Director, PNG Jewellers and Parag Gadgil, Executive Director, PNG Jewellers amongst other renowned dignitaries.

This 3500 sq. ft. spacious and elegant showroom located in Margao, right in the middle

of the main market is a treat for the eyes of every jewellery aficionado. The showroom showcases exquisite pieces of Minakari, Jadau, Kundan and the classic understated patent yellow gold, diamond, contemporary and silver jewellery. They even have products that will cater to the international audience.

PNG Jewellers inaugurated Goa’s first store in Panaji in February 2015.

This is the jeweller’s second store in the state.

(attracting CGST and SGST) or inter-State (attracting IGST). Understanding of time of supply is important to pay the taxes on time. Rules, valuation of supplies is based on transactional value with adjustments for related party supplies or where price is not the sole consideration. The ITC mechanism was laid out and when he pointed out the restrictions on taking ITC, it drew a huge disappointment.

Transitional provisions when explained had the participants concerned on denial of credits being carried over.

Professionals having frequent field visits and clients in different States around Goa were concerned whether they have to register in each of these States. Too many filings/ reconciliation events also raised discomfort.

The deliberations had a powerful impact on all.

There was an understanding that trade and industry is under prepared to handle the transition to the landmark indirect tax reform of independent India. It was a day of the weekend that was spent well in Goa. Industrialists, representatives of business houses, real estate businesses and hospitality sector, tax and other professionals were also exposed to a very absorbing deliberations.

Campus

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St. Xavier’s College Wins K-OSS

St. Xavier’s College, Winners K-OSS 2017

Goa University, 1st Runners UP K-OSS 2017

S

t.

Xavier’s College, Mapusa, recently won K-OSS, the intercollegiate event organised by S.S Dempo College of Commerce held at its new state-of-art campus at Cujira. They won first place in body building, stress interview, group dance and Mr and Miss K-OSS making them the overall winners. Goa University secured the first runners up trophy winning the fashion show. MES College won the second runners-up.

College students from across the State tested their physical, intellectual and oratory abilities during the inter-collegiate event

MES College, 2nd Runners UP K-OSS 2017

Shrinivas Dempo, Chairman, Dempo Group and Trustee, Dempo Charities

Trust declared the event open. Also present at the event were Trustee, Dempo

Charities Trust, Yatish Dempo; Principal, Radhika S Nayak; Assistant Professor, Vishal Rane, Assistant Professor and faculty in-charge K-OSS 2017, Shashikant Morajkar; General Secretary, Siddhi Gaitonde; Cultural Secretary, Zaki Hussain; student co-ordinators Shashank Desai, Sarvesh Shetye and Kavya Shetty.

Radhika Nayak, Principal welcomed the gathering and spoke about the passion that binds youngsters and the

compulsion to tap, exhibit and hone this raw talent.

She further mentioned how the state-of-the-art campus provides an apt environment to release this passion and channelize energies in a healthy and constructive manner.

Shrinivas Dempo, in his speech, asked students to use the new campus for holistic growth and also congratulated the young crowd for exercising their fundamental duty of voting.

College students from across the State tested their physical, intellectual and oratory abilities during the event. A movie on the theme ‘jungle’ was screened, reminding the masses to love and appreciate Mother Nature.

Judges at the event included RJ Namrata, Kabir Makhija, Andrea Dias, Julie Ferrao, Rupesh Naik, Siddhant Gadekar and Ashish Sonar.

BITS Pilani Goa organizes 4th International Workshop AttLis 2017

A

ttLis 2017 - Attentive Listener in the Visual World, the 4th International workshop on multi-modal cognition was organized by the Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus on 3rd and 4th March, 2017. The workshop’s theme was multi-modal cognition with an emphasis on the interaction between language and vision. Core areas of the workshop were the (non)-intentionality of language-vision interactions, the nature of competition, selective processing, learning and development which suggest that the investigation of language-vision interactions by means of methods such as eye-tracking offers a window into the mechanisms of how high level representations involved in language and memory interact with

visual input. The workshop encouraged discussions on how research in this field can affect our understanding of consumer psychology and consumer neuroscience.

The inaugural ceremony of the event was held on 3rd of March, 2017 where Veeky

Baths, (Organizing Secretary) welcomed the speakers and guests while Raghurama G, Director, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus addressed the gathering and introduced the Chief Guest, Zohar Eviatar, University of Haifa, Israel. Ramesh K Mishra (Co-

organizer) and Narayanan Srinivasan addressed the gathering while Judith Braganza, HOD, Biological Sciences proposed the vote of thanks.

The interactive session had 10 international and 3 national invited speakers

who spoke on topics such as cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, psycholinguistics, Neuromarketing and Neuroeconomics. Important questions such as how attention and visual processes interact with spoken and written language processing; why are attention and vision crucial to language comprehension; whether language processing is like sensory processing (the ‘embodied cognition approach’) or whether crosslinguistic differences leads to permanent restructuring of cognition and perception (the ‘linguistic relativity approach’) were actively discussed and debated during the workshop.

A total of 23 participants attended the workshop from various national and international colleges and universities.

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Shaping the world for a greener better future

Greengoa

The event focused on 8 major United Nations Sustainable Developmental Goals and how they relate to local problems in Goa

S

hape Connect Goa was recently held on the 5th of March in Goa with the objective to initiate a discussion on 8 of the UN Sustainable Developmental Goals specific to Goa. The programme aimed to help participants identify different environmental issues and suggest possible solutions as projects that will be taken up for implementation in the local community.

The event was organized by the Global Shapers Panjim – Hub of the Global Shapers Community, an arm of the World Economic Forum

at Kokum DC, PorvorimGoa. The participation was overwhelming with young students from Goa from different streams, professionals, individuals keen to engage local community and create positive social impact. Mrinmayee Thakur, the current curator of the Panjim Hub, introduced the goals and individual sessions while Gabriella D Cruz, the outgoing curator, introduced the Shapers Community, its focus area of work and invited young participants to join as volunteers to get an insight

Go Eco-Friendly this Holi

H

oli is round the corner and people are all set to celebrate the festival of colours with their dear ones. Holi is indeed all about colours, but over the years, it has been observed that behind the curtains of celebration, high quantities of artificial colours are used that seem convenient but the repercussions they may cause are deeply neglected. While many try to make aware of the consequences, one man from Sattari decided to bring about a change practically. Suryakant Gaonkar of Bhuipal has been involved in making ecofriendly colours since the last five years. Moving from small quantities, this year Suryakant has made available 80 kg of eco-friendly colours.

Concentrating more on spreading awareness, Suryakant targets the younger crowd for their extensive love

into how youth can become catalysts of positive change.

Each of the sessions conducted by Tallulah D’Silva (Ecoloo), Jill Ferguson (EcoBusiness), Clinton Vaz (Conscious Consumerism), Felly Gomes (Live Happy), Puja Mitra (Humpback Dolphins), Atul Borkar (Life on Land) and Gabriella D’Cruz (Marine Conservation) were specific to Goa and shared best practices.

The outcome of the workshops resulted in many projects that will be taken up for implementation by the

Group discussions to pool in ideas for sustainable development Shapers in the coming months.

Look out for a ‘CRAP’ hotline connecting you to repair services, tools on hire, etc, a

‘WATER Map’ to locate safe water in your neighbourhood and much more.

Using organic indgredients, Suryakant Gaonkar porduces a range of 7 different shades of eco-friendly colours

Nature is full of multi-colours and colours manufactured from vegetables and other organic elements have proved to be healthy and nonpolluting.” It takes Suryakant 15 days to make these dyes.

He also conducts workshops and classes for many who are willing to learn how to make these natural colours. Other than natural colors, Suryakant is also into eco-friendly décor for occasions like weddings and eco-friendly banners.

Gopinath Gawas of Vivekanand School, Keri, said, “We are taking efforts to inculcate environmental values in students. A workshop on making eco-friendly colours has proved to be an eye-opening experience for students and teachers. If we use of these eco-friendly colours, we can derive the real joy of the festival by using nonpolluting and non-hazardous colours.”

Suryakant Gaonkar

for colours. Popularizing the use of eco-friendly colours, the students of Vivekanand Vidya Mandir School in Keri were lucky to be taught by Suryakant recently on how to make eco-

friendly colours for the Holi festival by using flowers, leaves and barks of plants. Colours used for Holi are usually made from substances that pose a threat to human health.

Suryakant makes 6-7 different colours. Initially he began producing for his own family and relatives but now he manages to produce these dyes on a larger scale for sale. The colours include light green,

dark green, yellow, pink, dark pink, grey (fikat).

Gaonkar says, “By making use of natural colours available in edible vegetables, I achieved success in manufacturing ecofriendly colours. I got green colour from Pudina, Nimb, Palak and ferns. I obtained the red colour from pods of Bixa Orellana and used Marigold flowers. I used turmeric powder for the yellow colour.

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THEARTS

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Art

A Whimsical Collection of Ceramics Saraswati’s works reflect a desire to use ceramic art as a metaphor for various aspects of the human experience

Gallery Gitanjali had the opening of an exquisitely fanciful collection of ceramic sculptures and installations, ‘pLayrOOm 2’ by Saraswati Renata Sereda on the 10th of March 2017. Curator for the opening was Mirian KoshySukhija.

Saraswati’s works offer a window from which one can take an imaginative leap to the free-spirited world of one’s childhood. The pieces playfully pique interest through their quirky presence and subtle details, capturing the intimacy of her process and style while harnessing her lively energy and in style.

She achieves stunning results with her experimental merging of form and colour, mixing oxides, glazes, and under glazes like an alchemist and using materials ranging from paper clay to stoneware to porcelain with metal, wood, and glass.

Starting off young, under the tutelage of her ceramicist mother, Anna in Russia, Renata would spend time

watching her stepfather, a still-life photographer; create still life compositions in every corner of the house, using ceramics to substitute what he couldn’t find in objects.

She channels inspiration from Austrian-born artist and architect, Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

Sculpting miniature pieces rich in colour, with immaculate finishes and beautiful contrast in textures, her two mosaic works, The Birth of Life and Second Day of Creation carry a hint of Abstract Expressionism, where she combines painting with acrylic or oil on porcelain pieces.

Born in Russia, into a

family that lived and breathed ceramics, Saraswati began to work with clay at the age of 12 and has been in love with it ever since. She graduated from Pedagogical University as a Russian Language and Literature teacher and worked as a TV journalist before she moved to Auroville in 2004 and became fully dedicated to ceramics.

She is the co-founder of the White Peacock Clay Club at Auroville with her mother Anna who works at intricate paintings on porcelain and is now joined by her daughter, Masha, who sculpts characters from Russian fairy tales using ceramic.

Literature

Reading & Discussion of Gujrat Files by Rana Ayyub at Literati Literati Bookshop and Cafe invites you to a reading and discussion on Gujarat Files

by Rana Ayyub on Tuesday 14th March 2017 at 7pm. The discussion will be in conversation with Albertina Almeida, laywer and human rights activist.

Rana Ayyub is an Indian journalist, who previously, worked for Tehelka and is now an independent columnist.

She was awarded the Sanskriti award for excellence in journalism in 2011.

In her book Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up, Ayyub documented the verbatim transcripts of recordings, made using a concealed recording device, of many bureaucrats and police officers of Gujarat. The recordings were made in the course of an undercover investigation to

Capturing organic and aggressive art Aljona Shapovalova brings her first solo exhibition to Goa

Born in Vladikavkaz, Russian renowned artist Aljona Shapovalova brings her latest solo work titled “Rarе Rendition” to Goa. Her work draws on her interpretation of her surroundings and interconnection of organic and aggressive architectural structures. Project “Rarе Rendition” will be Aljona’s

seventh solo exhibition and first showing in Goa. Shapovalova is a member of Union of Art of Russian, Association International Des Arts Plastiques-IAA AIAP and UNESCO. Her international exhibitions include Art Stage Singapore (2014), Cosmoscow, Manege, Russia (2013), Contemporary

Istanbul, Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Centre (ICEC) in Turkey, SWAB Barcelona, Cent design ARTPLAY Russia (2012), Art Moscow, Central House of Artists, in Russia.

In 2016, she was awarded the President Prize of Russian Academy of Arts on competition “Red Gate/ Against the Current” in Moscow. She is also the recipient of the Special prize of architecture magazine “Speech” at International competition of architectural drawings “ArhiGrafika” as part of Moscow International Biennale of Architecture, Moscow. The Cube Gallery Moira will exhibit ‘Rare Renedition’ by Aljona Shapovalova, till April 10th from 10am to 7pm.

Rana Ayyub is an Indian journalist, who previously, worked for Tehelka and is now an independent columnist reveal the views of bureaucrats and police officers on the post2002 Gujarat riots and Police encounter killings. During the investigation Ayyub went undercover Maithili Tyagi, a student of the American Film Institute, having an ideological affinity for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s beliefs, to enable her to make the recordings.

Batik, the Self Expression Art

“Rare Rendition” by Aljona Shapovalova Capturing organic and aggressive art, Aljona Shapovalova brings her first solo exhibition to Goa

Rana Ayyub

A workshop on Batik will be held at the Goa College of Home Science on the 14th of March 2017 from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. The workshop is kept open for all age groups.

Batik art has become a medium of self expression, rather than just a technique.

One way to recognize the art work is to look out for a cracked effect created by the use of paraffin and bees wax, which is applied to the fabric as a resist.

Batik is a 3 stage process:

waxing, dyeing and de-waxing (removing the wax). The wax is applied by brushes, copper blocks called t-japs, or t-janting which are small metal cups with a spout to allow the easy flow of melted wax.

The main requirement for batik is the cold dyes which are available in a range of colours.

The fabric is first dipped in naphthol bath. Then a second bath of the base powder is prepared for the fabric to develop colour. This follows the dewaxing process.

Normally, batik is done on soft closely woven cloth to bring out its intricate effects.

Modern batik artist do the art on a variety of fabrics like khadi, drill, corduroy, jute, velveteen and other surfaces like on paper, leather, tile, clay, eggs, metals and wood.

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Saturday, 11 March 2017

Madhvi Parekh’s take on ‘The Last Supper’ Museum of Christian Art, Goa and the Seagull Foundation for Arts Calcutta, will showcase ‘The Last Supper’, a series of reverse paintings on acrylic by Madhvi Parekh at the Church of Santa Monica, Old Goa. Born in Gujarat, Madhvi Parekh is a self-taught artist, who began her journey in art in 1964, inspired by Gujarat’s rich folk traditions of picture making.

Her use of oil and acrylic on canvas and watercolour on paper, a decisive shift from the traditional materials and surface of the folk painters, stimulated and broadened her artistic imagination, and the initial naive charm of her paintings matured and became loaded with her statements on women, girl child, and

An evening with Natali Matos Band Natalie Matos

encounters between the rural and urban India.

Since 1964, Madhvi has participated Madhvi Parekh in many solo and important group shows, notably “Watercolour

by Four Women Artists’,

Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal (1987), Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay (1987), ‘Contemporary Art: Sahmat’, presented at the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi (1990). The Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, sponsored a documentary film on Madhvi and her artist husband Manu Parekh in 1992.

Earth Keepers’ Market at Candolim Visit The Rejuvenation Centre Candolim for the weekly Earth Keepers’ Market which offers a range of organic food, health supplements, natural and ecofriendly products.

This is a market set up by members of The World United Goa, and The Rejuvenation Center to build community awareness through an exchange of knowledge and ideas about an organic way of life. The market offers a sale, fresh organic vegetables and fruits, seedlings, saplings, freshly made food, fresh juices, cold pressed coconut oil, organic

whatsup

Daryl D’Souza

packaged foods, herbal health supplements, herbal products like body soaps, healing herbal teas, healing oils, massage oils, recycled products made by underprivileged women and children, quilled products and local cottage industry

products, a range of herbal health supplements of mineral drops, zinc supplements, grape seed extract, and many more will also be available.

The market will follow a session at 5 pm on ‘Small changes for a big impact on health, community and environment’ by Darryl D’Souza, President of the World United Goa. This session will shed light on daily choices for a healthier life and their positive impacts on not only society, but also the entire food and consumables supply chain and global environment.

Aman Hingorani on ‘Unravelling the Kashmir Knot’ Aman M. Hingorani, Aman M. Hingorani the lecture lawyer and mediator will argue that in the Supreme the Kashmir Court of India and issue was the the High Court of end product Delhi will be having of Britain’s a lecture on “the Role r u t h l e s s of International Law policies to in Unravelling the satisfy its Kashmir Knot” on the geo-political, 17th of March 2017 defence and at the International strategic Centre Goa. Based on his book interests in the Indian Unravelling the Kashmir Knot, subcontinent. Even more which draws extensively on importantly, he will make the material in the British archives, case that the way forward on

the Kashmir issue is to first depoliticize it by subjecting it to a legal analysis.

Hingorani holds a PhD from the Delhi University and has also acted as an arbitrator and as adjunct faculty to teach law students and runs training courses for young law teachers. Entry for the lecture is kept free and open for all.

The lecture is organized by the International Centre Goa. Commencing at 4:00 pm, the session is expected to go up till 5:30 in the evening.

The Assagao Mehfil along with the Park Calangute will have the Natalie Matos Band performing on the 16th of March 2017 at the Park Calangute, Goa. The Natalie Matos Band is known for fusing western folk, soul and funky grooves along with Natalie’s trademark lyrics that offer strong, emotive and

uplifting words that speak of a desire to access one’s own inner wisdom and to follow their passions, bringing positive messages of freedom, love and change to each one’s lives.

Natalie Matos has been a resident of Goa for the last tenyears. She ran a healing centre called Harmonic Healing before pursuing her vocation in music. She played the cello, piano, saxophone and the clarinet. Natalie has also completed her O and A levels in music from London.

Natalie draws the roots of her music to her spirituality.

Natalie has played in the past with musicians like Benoy Rai and Shantam from Goa.

Evelyn Dias at History Hour at Xavier Centre of Historical Research Dr. Evelyn Dias

Xavier Centre of Historical Research will host a presentation-cum-discussion titled ‘The Tale of the Stone Flower’ by Dr. Evelyn Dias on the 16th of March 2017 at 5:30 p.m.

In the presentation Dr. Evelyn Dias will speak about the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev who occupies a prominent place among twentieth-century composers of music for ballet.

The Tale of the Stone Flower was his final ballet written between 1948 and 1953.

Composed under the extremely difficult circumstances of political censure and the composer’s own ill health, this

ballet is not as widely known as Prokofiev’s other ones. Delving into the history of this ballet reveals a curious back-story of repression and perseverance.

This narrative is strangely relevant even today when one doesn’t have to look too far for instances of censorship of the press, films, music and artists.

Dr. Evelyn Dias is a pianist and has performed both as soloist and chamber musician who has performed around the world. She completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, USA and holds degrees from the University of Iowa and Mumbai University.

sports

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Goa all set to host the Santosh Trophy

Goa among to play for the Santosh Trophy to decide the champion football state

Chief Secretary relasing the official draw in presence of GFA Officials

rohit bhandiye

T

he Goa Football Association is all geared up to host the Santosh Trophy for the first time in more than two decades. Goa had last hosted the Santosh Trophy way back in 1996, losing the final against archrivals Bengal at a packed Nehru Stadium in Fatorda. Since then, Goa has never hosted the final round of the Santosh Trophy.

Previously, Goa has won the Santosh Trophy five times and has been runners-up on seven occasions.

This year the Santosh Trophy will be held from March 12 to 25 at the Tilak Maidan, Vasco and GMC Athletic Stadium, Bambolim.

Goa, led by former India midfielder Francis Fernandes, will begin their Santosh Trophy campaign on March 12 where it will face Meghalaya in the opening match. The hosts have been placed in Group A alongside defending champions Services, Meghalaya, West Bengal and Chandigarh, while Group B consists of Kerala, Maharasthtra, Mizoram, Railways and Punjab. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.

The final is slated to be held on

Team West Begal Punjab Kerala Goa Services Karnataka Railways Maharastra

Wins 31 8 8 5 5 4 3 3

Runers-up 12 7 8 7 5 4 6 5

Last win 2010–11 2007–08 2004–05 2008–09 2015–16 1968–69 1966–67 1999–00

Top Teams in Santosh Trophy

March 25 at Bambolim and will be played under floodlights.

Chief coach Mateus Costa and assistant coach Norbert Gonsalves have been entrusted with the responsibility of getting the squad in shape for the Santosh Trophy and the duo are confident that the Goan boys will clinch the title this time around. Goa had last won the championship in 2009 and had reached the semi-final in the 2016 edition.

After all, Costa who is under tremendous pressure to get the trophy back to Goa, has reasons to believe they have a real chance to win, thanks to an expected home crowd support.

“There is immense pressure, no doubt, but we have to overcome it. We are working on the mental aspect

of the team. It’s very important that we do not falter at home,” said Costa.

“The boys are extra motivated since we are playing at home. The crowd must be more supportive. If they come at the stadium and cheer the players, it will certainly help.

They play a crucial role in keeping the team going,” said Costa.

In the qualifiers last month, Goa had thrashed Daman and Diu 8-0 and Madhya Pradesh 4-0 which ensured Goa’s qualification.

But the final round will be a different ball game. With four players missing the finals round because they moved to I-League clubs after the qualifiers and one got injured, it won’t be easy for Costa and his boys.

Santosh Trophy which was once a premier tournament in Indian Football calendar has now lost its lustre simply because players registered for the I-League cannot play in this championship. This means that top players from Goa and other states will not be seen in this competition. With the introduction of this rule, it looks like the AIFF is trying to devalue Santosh Trophy despite the fact that this is the only tournament for the States to measure their strength against each other.

Even after the withdrawal of three Goan teams – Dempo SC, Salgaocar FC and Sporting Clube de Goa from the I-League this season, Goa will have a comparatively weaker squad. This is because most of the Goan players have joined the other teams outside the State.

Top Goan players like Mandar Rao Desai (Bengaluru FC), Romeo Fernandes (East Bengal), Laxmikant Kattimani (Mumbai FC) are still with the other I-League teams.

“The Santosh Trophy has become a diluted tournament.

It is no longer the tournament what it was years ago. The shine of the tournament has faded. I would rather prefer fielding an under-21 team than

a second-string team. I am sure the Goan public would love to encourage youngsters.

We have a rich tradition as our under-21 team has won the nationals for 5 years.” said Savio Messais, a top official from GFA.

But, Elvis Gomes, President, Goa Football Association (GFA) does not agree with this. “Despite all the talk that the tournament has lost its charm, the Santosh Trophy will always remain significant to Goa,” he told the reports. Chief coach Costa agrees with the GFA President, insisting almost everyone who he has met in the last couple of days has wished him good luck. “Everyone wants the trophy to return to Goa,” said Costa.

goa in a week

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Saturday, 11 March 2017

Mumbai Challengers ride an explosive 43-point 2nd quarter to take a 1-0 lead in UBA North Division semi-finals

I

n the first game of the UBA North Division semi-finals best-of-three series, Mumbai Challengers raced behind a 43-point second quarter as they put on a scintillating display to defeat Punjab Steelers 128-114. The UBA Season 4 championship series is being played at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium in Goa from 10-16 March, 2017.

Punjab started with a lineup of Ravi Bhardwaj, Akilan Pari, Rajveer, Dermaine Crockrell and Kaushal. They were playing without UBA Season 4 all-star forward Garry Gill who was out owing to an illness. They faced Mumbai Challengers’ starting lineup of Jagdep Bains, Alex Scales, Jimmy Scroggins, Nikhil and Inderbir Gill.

Punjab took an early 8-4 lead to start the game behind six points from Kaushal. Scroggins was sticking to league’s leading

scorer Crockrell like glue, putting pressure on the rest of Punjab to put points on board.

About halfway into the first quarter, Punjab led Mumbai 13-12. Punjab committed two unforced turnovers in a row to allow Mumbai to take a 16-13 lead. They fought back behind Crockrell’s buzzer beater to tie the game at 25. He led Punjab with 12 points which was matched by Scoggins’ 12 points.

Mumbai raced out to open the second quarter by going on a run to take a 33-27 lead in the first two minutes of the second quarter. Cockrell brought Punjab within 35-34 but Scales hit a pair of three pointers and converted on the break to help Mumbai take a 47-40 lead halfway into the second quarter. Two key cogs from both teams got into foul trouble as Jagdeep and Pari went to the bench with 3 fouls

each. Scales caught fire in the second quarter, scoring 21 points in the second alone to help Mumbai take a 68-49 lead at halftime. Gill and Scroggins added 16 points each for Mumbai while Punjab were led

by Cockrell’s 23 points as no other player for Punjab scored

in double figures in the first half.

Mumbai were in no mood to rest on their lead as they came out in the second half with a sense of purpose to extend their lead to 81-56 halfway in the third quarter as Scroggins attacked Punjab with

relentless energy. He threw down a thunderous dunk as well. Mumbai kept the pressure on even when their stars went to the bench as their bench stepped up behind inspired play from Prudhvi Reddy and Prasanna Venkatesh as the duo combined for 9 points and 4 assists in the third quarter.

Mumbai held a commanding 99-74 lead at the end of the third quarter over Punjab.

Punjab started the fourth quarter with a sense of desperation by going on a 8-0 run. They cut Mumbai’s lead to 105-92 in the first five minutes of the fourth. While the lead seemed insurmountable, Punjab did not give up as they were looking to carry some momentum for the next day’s game which they would have to win to stay alive in the semifinals. Their comeback came up short as Mumbai defeated Punjab 128-114.

Bengaluru Beast withstand Pune Peshwas’ in UBA South Beast overpowers Pune Peshwas at the first Division semifinals Bengaluru round of UBA South Division Semi-finals T he first game of UBA South Division semi-finals best-of-three series went right down to the final minutes as Bengaluru Beast overpowered Pune Peshwas for a 138133 win. The UBA Season 4 championship series is being played at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium in Goa from 10-16 March, 2017.

Bengaluru Beast started with a lineup of Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Chris Solomon, Palpreet Brar, Visu Palani and Pratham Singh. Pune Peshwas fielded Amritpal Singh, Pierre Newton, Siddhant Shinde, Narender Grewal and Arshpreet Bhullar.

The first quarter ran almost according to plan for Bengaluru as they raced out to a 10-0 lead. The air seemed to go out of Bengaluru when Palpreet twisted his ankle as he landed on Amritpal’s

ankle and had to go to the locker room. Bengaluru saw Solomon, Vishesh, Kaif and Raghuram connect from three point range as Bengaluru led Pune 45-33 at the end of the first.

Newton started the second quarter doing a little bit of everything for Pune and Amritpal simply imposed his will down low with a couple of thunderous dunks. Bengaluru’s

offense was firing on cylinders as they managed to hold on to the lead behind Solomon’s fiery charge. Pune got key contributions from Shinde and Mane as they mounted their comeback. Bengaluru led Pune 80-70 at the end of the first half behind 39 points from Chris Solomon and 22 from Vishesh.

Pune knew they had the advantage inside with Amritpal and they looked

to make the most of it in the second half. The moment the ball found its way into Amritpal’s hands, Bengaluru sent multiple defenders at him.

The big man used his excellent court vision to rotate the ball and find teammates for good looks.

Nevertheless, Bengaluru managed to keep Pune at bay behind brilliant performances from Vishesh and Solomon.

At the end of the third quarter, Bengaluru held on to a slim 109-102 lead.

The fourth quarter saw Pune attack with confidence and poise as they methodically looked to attack the rim.

Bengaluru answered in kind by looking to convert up close even if it meant challenging Amritpal who picked up his fourth foul with 6 minutes left. Palpreet and Newton exchanged buckets and Vishesh tied the game at 129 with 2 minutes left in the game.

Vishesh added another two and assisted Kaif for two, but Amritpal tied the game with 53 seconds left. Amritpal fouled out by committing an over the back foul on Kaif, who hit a pair of free throws.Solomon stole the ball on the next possession to let Bengaluru pull away to a hard fought 138133 win.

MY GOA | Saturday, 11 March 2017 | Pg16